Robert  MA.Hawk 


February  o»  1883 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESSES 


LIFE  AND  CHARACTER 


Robert  M.  A.  Hawk 

(A  REPIIESENTATIVE  FROM  ILLINOIS), 


DELIVERED  IN  THE 


HODSE  OP  REPRKSENTATIVES  AND  IN  THE  SENATE, 


FOKTY-SEVENTH   CONGEESS. 


PUBLISHED  BY  ORDER  OF  CONGRESS. 


WASHlN(rr()N. 

G  ()  V  K  K  N  M  E  N  1'    P  K I  N  T  I  N  G     < )  I"'  K  ICE. 
1883. 


0174 


JOINT  RESOLUTION  to  provide  for  the  publication  of  the  memorial  addresses  delivered 
iipoTi  the  life  and  character  of  Honorable  R.  M.  A.  Hawk,  of  Illinois. 

Resolved  by  the  Sivate  and  House  of  liepresentatiTes  of  the  United  Slates  of 
America  in  Congnss  assembled,  Tliat  there  he  printed  twelve  thonsaud  copi«'s 
of  the  iiietnorial  addresses  delivered  in  the  Senate  and  Honse  of  Kepresenta- 
tives  npon  the  life  ai.d  character  of  Honorable  Kobert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a 
Representative  from  the  State  of  Illinois,  tofjether  with  a  portrait  of  the 
deceased,  nine  thonsaud  copies  tliereof  for  the  use  of  the  Honse  of  Repre- 
sentatives, and  three  thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate.  And  a  sum 
sufficient  to  defraj'  the  expense  of  preparinjf  and  printing  the  portrait  of  the 
deceased  for  the  publication  herein  provided  for  is  hereby  appropriated  out 
of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

A])proved.  Feljrnary  24,  1883. 
2 


H  ^v;i/. 


x^ 


ADDRESSES 

ON   THE 

Death  of  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES. 


In  the  House  of  Representatives, 

June  30,  1882. 

Mr.  Henderson.  Mr.  Speaker,  the  sad  duty  is  devolved  upon 
me  of  announcing  to  the  House  the  death  of  my  late  colleague, 
Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  a  Representative  in  Congress  from 
the  fifth  Congressional  district  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  He  died 
at  his  rooms  in  this  city  last  night  at  the  hour  of  ten  o'clock  and 
fifty  minutes.,  p.  m.,  after  a  very  brief  illness. 

I  will  only  say  at  this  time  that  all  of  us  who  remember  Major 
Hawk,  as  in  his  crippled  condition  he  came  into  and  went  out  of 
this  Hall,  will  feel  saddened  at  the  announcement  of  his  sudden 
death,  and  that  at  some  future  day  the  House  will  be  asked  to  pay 
a  proper  tribute  to  his  memory. 

I  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  Clerk's  desk,-and  ask 
for  their  adoption. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  sincere  regret  the  announcement 
of  the  death  of  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  Representative  from  the 
State  of  Hlinois. 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  {the  Senate  concurring  herein),  That 
a  special  joint  coniniittee,  of  seven  members  of  the  House  and  three  members 
of  the  Senate,  be  appointed  to  take  order  for  superintending  tlie  funeral  and 
to  escort  the  remains  of  the  deceased  to  their  last  resting  place;  and  that  the 
necessary  expenses  attending  the  execution  of  this  order  shall  be  paid  out  of 
the  contingent  fund  of  the  House. 

3 


4  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  tlie  House  communicate  the  foregoing  resolu- 
tions to  the  Senate. 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  this 
House  do  now  adjourn. 

The  resolutious  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Before  the  announcement  of  the  result, 

The  Speaker  said:  The  Chair  has  been  furnished  with  tlie 
names  of  the  following  members  to  accompany  the  remains  : 

(xeorge  R.  Davis,  of  Illinois ;  Lewis  E.  Payson,  of  Illinois ; 
Samuel  W.  Moulton,  of  Illinois  ;  William  H.  Calkins,  of  In- 
diana; George  C.  Cabell,  of  Virginia;  James  A.  McKenzie,  of 
Kentucky,  and  William  Cullen,  of  Illinois. 

The  Chair  will  also  state  that  the  following  members  of  the 
House  will  act  as  pall-bearers: 

Thomas  J.  Henderson,  of  Illinois;  James  W.  Singleton,  of  Illi- 
nois; Charles  G.  Williams,  of  Wisconsin;  William  D.  Kellcy,  of 
Pennsylvania;  William  M.  Springer,  of  Illinois  ;  Dudley  C.  Has- 
kell, of  Kansas;  George  D.  Robinson,  of  Massachusetts;  Samuel 
S.  Cox,  of  New  York;  J.  Proctor  Knott,  of  Kentucky,  and  John 
II.  Lewis,  of  Illinois. 

And  then,  in  pursuance  of  the  last  resolution  (at  eleven  o'clock 
and  seventeen  minutes  a.  m.),  the  House  adjourned. 


In  the  House  of  Representatives, 

Febi-uary  6,  1883. 

Mr.  HiTT.  The  House  by  its  special  order  set  apart  this  hour 
for  the  consideration  of  resolutions  expressive  of  its  esteem  for  the 
late  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  and  in  order  that  his  associates 
might  have  opportunity  to  pay*fitting  tributes  to  his  character  and 
memory.     I  therefore  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send  to  the  desk. 

The  Clerk  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  House  has  heard  with  i^rofound  regret  the  annoujice- 
ment  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  member  of  this  House 
from  the  State  of  Illinois. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HITT,  OF  ILLINOIS.  5 

Resolved,  That,  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  memory,  the  ofificers  and  members 
of  this  House  will  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mouruiug  for  thirty  days. 

Renolred,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutious  be  communicated  by  the  Clerk  of 
the  House  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolved,  That,  as  .i  furtlier  mark  of  respect,  the  House  at  the  conclusiou  of 
these  memorial  procecdiug.s  shall  adjouru. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  couimuuicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Seuate.- 


Address  of  Mr.  Hitt  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Speaker:  Duringthe  present  Congress  death  has  many  times 
arrested  the  intense  and  clamorons  activity  of  this  body  by  the 
annonnceraent  of  the  fall  of  one  member  after  another.  When  that 
messenger  passes  by  it  is  always  solemnizing,  but  never  so  striking 
and  so  sad  as  when  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  in  the  fullness  of 
his  powers  and  promise,  is  suddenly  cut  down.  We  pause  to-day 
by  the  grave  of  one  who  fell  suddenly,  his  harness  on,  in  the  midst 
of  labor  aud  strength  and  hope,  to  honor  his  memory  with  fitting 
ceremony,  to  record  on  the  Journals  of  the  House  and  express  by 
friendly  voices  the  large  measure  of  esteem  in  which  he  was  held. 

At  such  a  moment  we  naturally  turn  back  to  the  story  and  lesson 
of  his  life.  I  will  not  dwell  upon  his  career  as  a  legislator  in  this 
body.  You  saw  it ;  you  know  it  well.  At  the  mention  of  his 
name  every  one  here  recalls  the  tall,  manly  form  of  Major  Hawk, 
sitting  erect  and  attentive  in  his  place  or  moving  haltingly  and 
heavily  on  his  canes  and  the  one  leg  that  battle  had  left  him,  his 
frank,  earnest  face,  his  clear,  kindly  eye,  his  courteous  bearing,  his 
full  beard  just  turning  to  gray,  his  sincere,  decided  tone  of  voice. 

His  life  was  terminated  so  abruptly  that  it  seems  a  story  iialf 
told;  but  it  is  a  career  of  real  interest,  showing  at  each  step  the 
growth  of  a  strong,  well-rounded,  admirable  character. 

Robert  Moffett  Alijson  Hawk  was  born  April  2.'),  1839,  on 
a  farm  near  Greenfield,  in  Hancock  County,  Indiana,  where  his  par- 
ents had  recently  come  from  Abingdon,  Virginia.  His  mother  was 
of  Scotch-Irish  blood,  that  vig(nxms  element  which  has  furnished  so 
much  of  strength  and  directing  energy  to  the  American  people. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Captain  Moifett,  an   ludian  fighter,  and 


6  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

her  p-randfather  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  tiie  Great  Kanawha. 
Major  Hawk  inherited  the  soldierly  instinct.  The  father  was  an 
intelligent,  energetic,  industrious,  highly  respected  man. 

The  little  family  had  lived  there  near  seven  years,  and  three 
children  had  been  born  to  them,  M'hen  the  mother  died.  Mr.  Hawk 
soon  after  removed  with  his  children  to  Illinois,  and  settled  in  Car- 
roll County,  where  he  married  his  second  wife,  and  where  they  are 
now  living.  Their  long  lives  hav^e  been  peaceful  and  happy;  many 
children  have  blessed  their  home.  Of  old  Mr.  Hawk's  fourteen 
sons  and  daughters  nine  are  living  to  minister  with  affection  to  the 
advancing  years  of  the  patriarch. 

The  infancy  and  growing  years  of  Robert  Hawk  were  passed  in 
the  healthful  surroundings  of  farm  life  in  a  new  country.  That 
little  county  of  Carroll,  in  Northwestern  Illinois,  now  all  covered 
with  farms,  was  in  those  early  days  a  region  of  wild,  swelling  prairies 
of  singular  beauty,  breaking  away  westward  toward  the  Mississippi 
River,  its  border,  into  great  ridges,  and  crossed  here  and  there  by 
lines  of  grove  bordering  the  streams.  All  who  visited  that  coun- 
try in  its  first  unpeopled  fresimess  were  charmed  with  tiie  landsc^ape 
and  the  rich  promise  of  its  coming  years,  promise  already  in  large 
part  fulfilled.  The  settlers  were  of  an  excellent  class,  sterling  men 
and  women,  intelligent,  brave,  large-hearted,  laborious,  and  honor- 
ing labor — so  far-sGeing  that  they  built  schools  and  churches  be- 
fore they  changed  their  log  cabins  into  better  houses.  He  had 
the  training  of  such  schools,  the  precepts  and  example  of  good 
parents,  the  wholesome  influence  of  home,  and  the  simple  life  of  a 
new  country.     By  them  his  character  wa.s  fashioned. 

At  sixteen  he  taught  for  a  time  in  one  of  the  common  schools. 
Habits  of  study  and  industry  were  early  formed.  He  worked  on 
the  farm,  seizing  every  opportunity  for  study,  preparing  for  col- 
lege— the  fruitful  dream  of  so  many  a  farmer  boy.  At  last,  after 
long  effort  and  delay  and  diligent  application,  he  was  ready  ;  and 
in  September,  1861,  he  entered  Eureka  College,  in  Woodford 
County,  Illinois. 

But  1861  was  not  a  favorable  year  for  scholastic  meditations  or 
pursuits.  It  was  the  opening,  the  arming  hour  of  the  war.  The 
drum-beat  of  that  memorable  epoch  disturbed  the  studies  and  fired 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HITT^  OF  ILLISOIS.  7 

the  souls  of  how  many  thousands  of  students  !  Remember,  too, 
young  Hawk  was  now  twenty-two  years  of  age,  a  full-grown  man, 
taller  than  those  around  him,  of  powerful  frame,  full  of  eonsoious 
strength.  His  upright  mind,  trained  to  principle,  felt  all  the  obliga- 
tion of  patriotic  duty,  and  his  heart  responded  in  full  sympathy 
to  the  lofty  passion  of  the  hour.  He  tried  hard  to  keep  to  his 
studies,  but  after  a  few  months  more,  when  the  reverses  to  the 
Union  armies  in  1862  brought  President  Lincoln's  call  for  300,000 
more  volunteers,  he  threw  his  books  aside  and  left  college  forever. 
He  reverently  consulted  his  parents,  and  shall  I  mention  another 
one  still,  and  a  dearer  one,  the  star  of  his  young  heart,  who  bade 
him  go,  while  she  would  wait  till  her  hero  came  marching  home. 
There  was  a  touch  of  old-time  chivalry  in  tliis  martial  lover's  de- 
parture. 

Throughout  that  summer  of  1862  the  whole  of  Northern  Illinois 
was  an  animated,  enthusiastic  recruiting  field.  Every  neighbor- 
hood was  stirred  with  the  profound  excitement  that  pervaded  the 
people.  The  young  men  from  the  farms,  leaving  the  harvests  un- 
gathered  ;  from  the  workshops,  from  the  professions,  from  everv 
class,  formed  themselves  into  companies.  There  were  examples  of 
devotion  to  the  highest  motives  of  man  in  almost  every  household. 
The  companies  poured  into  Rockford  from  a  dozen  counties  and 
were  there  organized  into  regiments.  In  the  company  from  Mount 
Carroll  Robert  Hawk  went  to  Rockford  in  July,  and  they  were 
soon  organized,  with  others,  into  the  Ninety-second  Illinois  Volun- 
teers. They  elected  their  company  officers,  and  young  Hawk  was 
chosen  first  lieutenant. 

No  body  of  men  superior  to  them  in  the  finest  qualities  that 
make  an  intelligent  soldiery  went  into  the  great  volunteer  armv  of 
citizens,  and  an  election  by  their  choice  was  high  evidence  of  per- 
sonal worth. 

In  September  the  regiment  departed  for  the  field,  going  to 
Kentucky,  where  they  formed  part  of  Gejieral  Baird's  division. 
Throughout  the  remainder  of  that  year  they  were  almost  inces- 
santly marching  in  various  operations  in  Kentucky.  It  is  said 
that   they    marched    nearlv    eio-ht    hundred    miles    in    that    time. 


8  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

Lieutenant  Hawk  was  soon  noted  for  his  fine  soldierly  bearing, 
his  attention  to  duty,  the  intelligence  with  which  he  learned  the 
art  of  war  and  adapted  himself  to  camp  life.  At  Winchester  and 
at  Danville  he  showed  the  coolness  and  courage  of  the  soldier  at 
the  right  moment. 

In  January  he  was  promoted  to  be  captain.  Soon  after  the  regi- 
ni«!nt  went  by  steamer  to  Fort  Donelson,  which  was  in  a  critical 
position  and  hard  pressed,  the  attacking  force  being  led  by  the  hon- 
orable gentleman  from  Alabama  [Mr.  Wheeler],  whose  active, 
able  spirit  was  as  manifest  then  as  here  in  these  happier,  peaceful 
days  of  debate.  The  spring  was  taken  up  with  operations  near 
Franklin,  where  they  formed  part  of  Gordon  Granger's  corps.  In 
June  they  were  engaged  about  Trianna  and  in  the  defense  of  that 
pla'Oe,  then  at  Shelby ville  and  AVartrace,  where,  by  order  of  (ien- 
eral  Rosecrans,  and  to  their  great  satisfaction,  they  were  attached  to 
Wilder's  brigade  of  mounted  infantry.  Thus  transformed,  a  new 
and  far  more  active  life  began,  and  during  all  the  rest  of  the  war 
they  were  almost  incessantly  in  movement.  Over  the  mountains 
they  went  into  the  Tennessee  Valley,  back  to  the  river,  on  toward 
Ringgold,  wiiere  Captain  Hawk,  with  two  companies,  re])ulsed  a 
body  of  the  enemy,  superior  in  force,  who  had  attacked  a  teamsters' 
camp.  In  the  operations  before  and  beyond  Chattanooga  tluy 
were  ever  in  advance  or  doing  other  duty  belonging  to  this  ai-m  of 
the  service. 

At  Chickamauga  Captain  Hawk,  with  his  company,  was  on 
courier  duty  and  served  at  the  headquarters  of  general  Rosecrans 
throughout  that  terrible  battle,  carrying  messages  to  various  pai'ts 
of  the  field.  "  When  the  right  of  the  army  was  crushed  tlie  gen- 
eral, followed  by  Major  Hawk  and  his  reserve  of  Company  C, 
dashed  along  the  broken  lines,  amid  shot  and  shell,  endeavoring  to 
rally  the  retreating  mass,  but  it  was  like  attempting  to  stay  the 
ocean's  tide  by  throwing  pebbles  in  its  way."  These  arc;  the  words 
in  which  the  scene  was  described  by  an  officer  of  the  regiment  who 
was  an  eye-witness. 

He  continued  on  courier  duty  under  General  Thomas  until  De- 
cember, when   he  rejoined  the  regiment  at  Caperton's    Ferry.      Ju 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HITT,  OF  ILLINOIS.  9 

the  f5pring  they  were  placed  in  Kilpatrick's  oavalrv  and  were  there- 
after under  that  restless  and  gallant  commander. 

In  the  engagement  at  Tunnel  Hill  Captain  Hawk  wa.s  remarked 
for  coolness  and  efficiency.  They  were  in  fre([uent  combats  through- 
out the  Atlanta  campaign  ;  they  took  part  in  tlie  march  after  Hood ; 
and  then  came  Sherman's  manili  to  the  sea,  one  of  the  UK^-^t  fas(!i- 
nating  chapters  in  military  history.  The  cavalry,  protecting  the 
front,  flanks,  and  rear  of  the  advancing  army  of  four  great  in- 
fantry columns  through  a  hostile  country,  was  ever  in  motion. 
Captain  Hawk  showed  peculiar  skill  in  some  of  these  operations. 
They  were  in  many  minor  engagements,  at  Powder  River,  at 
Waynesborough,  and  other  places  in  the  Carolines ;  but  I  pass  on 
to  the  last  I  shall  mention,  April  10,  1865,  in  Xorth  Carolina, 
when  they  were  just  touching  upon  the  end  of  the  war.  They 
were  pressing  the  enemy  when  they  came  to  Swift  Creek,  not  far 
from  Raleigh,  about  10  o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  The  bridge  had 
been  partially  destroyed,  and  the  enemy  held  the  opposite  side. 
Three  companies  crossed  the  stream  wading.  The  bridge  wa.s  re- 
paired. The  remainder  of  the  regiment  crossed.  Just  then  an 
officer  rode  up  from  the  rear,  bringing  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender. 
The  lines  resounded  with  exulting  shouts  of  joy.  But  the  en- 
emy, holding  an  earthwork  on  the  hills  opposite,  had  lost  nothing 
of  their  oft-tried  courage,  and  charged  tlie  adv^ance  companies,  who 
were  driven  back ;  but  the  main  body  of  the  regiment  checkeil 
them  and  made  a  counter-charge,  driving  the  enemy  up  the  hill 
and  out  of  their  first  line  of  works.  Between  their  first  and  second 
line  of  rifle-pits  the  Xinety-second  halted  to  reform,  and  Captain 
Hawk,  as  he  rode  before  the  line  rallying  the  men  to  stand  firm, 
fell  just  as  the  bugle  sounded  the  advance,  pierced  by  a  terrible 
wound  from  a  minie-ball,  Avhich  cut  the  iliac  artery  and  j^assed 
out  near  tiie  center  of  the  abdomen.  The  mist  gathered  over  his 
eyes  as  he  heard  the  victorious  shouts  of  his  men,  who  swe])t  bv 
where  he  lay,  sinking,  apparently  dying. 

Surgeon  Helm,  who  was  close  at  hand,  was  by  his  side  in  a  few 

moments.     In  a  recent  statement  he  tluis  describes  his  condition  : 

The  blood  was  spontiu^  from  him  iu  lar^e  quantities,  so  mtieh  so  that  I 
thought  he  would  certainly  bleed  to  death.     Very  soou  he  faiuted ;  aud  it  is 


10  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

here  that  the  surgical  peculiarities  of  the  case  come  in.  He  remained  in  that 
faint  two  or  three  minutes,  so  long,  indeed,  that  I  supposed  he  was  dying; 
but  had  it  not  been  for  that  faint  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  saved 
him;  he  would  not  have  survived  three  minutes.  While  in  that  condition 
the  action  of  his  heart  was  so  nearly  stopped  that  the  blood  almost  ceased  to 
circulate  and  gave  time  for  a  clot  of  blood  to  form  around  the  wound  in  the 
torn  iliac  artery,  thus  preventing  further  hemorrhage.  I  do  not  suppose  there 
is  another  case  of  that  kind  anywhere  ;  and  this  made  the  matter  one  of  in- 
terest to  the  entire  medical  fraternity. 

The  wounded  officer  was  tenderly  carried  to  a  neighboring;  liouse 
and  afterward  to  hospital.  Tiie  circulation  was  cut  off  from  the 
riuht  leg,  which  began  to  mortify  and  was  amputated.  Slowly  and 
throuo-h  long  anguish  he  recovered,  until  at  last  his  venerable 
father,  who  had  come  to  his  side,  took  him  home.  His  family 
greeted  his  pale  and  wasted  fiice  with  tears  of  joy  and  pity  ;  and 
she  who  for  anxious  years  had  faithfully  kept  the  vigil  of  love  for 
her  returning  hero  now  welcomed  him  back.  In  July  following 
thev  were  married.  For  seventeen  years,  to  the  end  of  his  life, 
that  accomplished  and  cultivated  lady  presided  with  grace  and  dig- 
nity over  tlie  hospitalities  of  their  beautiful  home  at  Mount  Car- 
roll, encouraging  and  aiding  him  in  his  incessant  labors;  and  many 
honorable  members,  his  colleague.s,  who  have  met  her  in  this  city 
will  share  in  the  sympathy  due  to  her  grief  as  she  sits  to-day  with 
her  fatherless  children  in  their  sorrow-stricken  house. 

The  grateful  people  of  his  county  elected  him  that  .same  year  to 
the  post  of  county  elerk.  As  he  became  more  widely  known  he 
was  more  and  more  esteemod,  and  again  and  again,  and  yet  again 
thev  re-elected  him.  He  was  an  efficient  and  accominodating  pub- 
lic officer,  laborious  and  punctual.  I  have  been  told  that  such  was 
his  svstem  and  industry  that  wiiile  performing  all  the  duties  of  this 
position  he  found  opportunity  for  a  course  of  legal  study.  He  re- 
signed in  1877  to  accept  a  seat  in  the  Forty-sixth  Congress,  to 
which  he  had  been  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  fifth  Congressional 
district.  He  was  again  elected  ro  the  Forty-seventh  Congress,  and 
last  year,  just  as  the  convention  was  about  to  assemble  to  renomi- 
nate him  for  another  term,  they  received  the  telegram  of  his  sud- 
den death,  June  29,  and  adjourned  for  his  ftineral.  He  died  in 
mid-career. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HITT,  OF  ILLINOIS.  1 1 

Mr.  Speaker,  the  gentlemen  of  tliis  House  who  accompanied  his 
remains  from  here  to  their  last  resting  place  at  his  home  will  not 
forget  the  vast  throng  who  came  by  thousands  to  manifest  their 
sorrow  for  their  beloved  neighbor  and  friend  and  representative. 

He  was  a  man  of  many  friends.     He  made  every  one  his  friend 
by  unconsciously  showing  in  every  word  and  act  how  worthv  he 
was  of  friendship,  how  pure  his  mind,  how  gentle  his  heart. 

A  quiet  man,  without  sensational  brilliancy,  his  upright  Christian 
character,  vigorous  sense,  genuine  honesty  of  soul,  and  strong,  placid 
nature  inspired  confidence.  He  was  trusted  most  by  those  who 
knew  him  best.  No  men  ever  had  a  better  opportunitv  to  know  an- 
other than  the  soldiers  of  his  regiment  had  to  know  him.  In  the 
fiery  furnace  of  war,  in  the  daily  life  of  the  camp,  marching  and 
fighting,  man  beside  man,  for  months  and  years,  the  whole  nature  is 
brought  out,  every  side  it,  shown,  and  if  the  man  is  not  genuine  it 
will  be  discovered.  They  can  not  make  a  mistake  in  estimatino- 
him.  Their  love  and  respect  for  Major  Hawk  were  unbounded. 
Last  summer  at  their  annual  reunion  the  joy  of  that  festal  dav 
was  mingled  with  general  sorrow,  expressed  in  a  hundred  touching 
ways,  for  their  comrade  so  recently  gone,  and  words  of  regret  and  of 
praise  were  on  .every  lip. 

He  was  truly  representative — the  type  of  what  our  country  pro- 
duces in  numberless  instances — a  home-bred  American  bov  risino- 
with  years  into  increasing  strength  as  new  responsibilities  and  new 
honors  came  to  him,  a  self-reliant  man  who  set  no  traps  to  catch  suc- 
cess, but  went  straight  on  in  his  plain  duty.  His  faculties  were  equal 
to  his  opportunities;  and  his  whole  life,  from  the  time  he  left  school 
until  his  death,  w^as  passed  in  the  public  service — military  or  civil — 
everywhere  with  fidelity  and  zeal. 

He  never  lost  his  simple  manners,  and  he  was  guided  by  the  clear 
common  sense  of  the  plain  citizen.  His  convict'ons  were  earnest ; 
his  reasoning  direct.  His  conversation  waa  pleasant,  flowing  on  in 
a  vein  of  good  sense  and  good  humor,  warmed  with  a  genial  spirit, 
and  was  always  fitting.  In  any  company  he  was  self-possessed,  at 
ease, and  dignified,  and  his  dignity  Mas  not  lessened  by  an  amiability 
which  was  natural  to  liim.     His  courteous  regard  for  others  was  not 


12  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

a  mere  habit  to  conciliate  or  attract  supporters,  but  arose  from  sterl- 
ing- goodness  of  heart.  Of  a  (cheerful  disposition  and  a  spirit  averse 
to  hates,  his  frank  face  was  always  pleasant  to  look  upon.  The  peo- 
ple of  his  district  held  him  in  affection.  When  he  came  into  a  vil- 
lage his  appearance  brought  a  group  of  friends  about  the  lame  sol- 
dier, and  you  could  trace  him  through  the  town  at  a  glance  by  the 
circle  that  surrounded  him. 

As  a  member  of  this  House  be  made  no  pretensions  to  leader- 
ship, but  he  was  always  at  his  post,  and  not  only  regular  in  attend- 
ance, but  careful  in  attention  to  the  business  of  legislation.  Dur- 
ing the  first  session  of  this  Congress  I  often  saw  him,  and  I  ad- 
mired the  direct,  ])rompt  manner  in  which  he  dispatched  business 
here  and  at  the  Departments.  As  a  speaker  his  remarks  on  the 
floor  were  not  so  frequent  as  to  make  them  common,  but  were  prac- 
tical and  thoughtful,  and  were  listened  to  with  much  respect.  In 
committees,  those  great  laboratories  where  so  large  a  part  of  legis- 
lation is  done,  where  errors  and  crudities  are  searched  out  and 
pruned  away,  and  each  provision  of  a  proposed  law  adjusted  to  the 
others  and  to  existing  law,  he  was  a  conscientious,  judicious  worker, 
examining  every  phase  of  a  subject  with  patient  care.  In  his  own 
attairs  he  was  an  excellent  business  man,  and  he  brought  the  meth- 
ods of  business  to  public  interests. 

He  understood  all  the  feelings  of  the  laboring  cla.>^s.  His  own  life 
was  one  of  labor.  He  knew  the  value  of  a  day's  work.  He  min- 
gled with  the  working  world,  and  sympathized  with  poverty  and 
hope  struggling  for  better  things.  He  knew  what  it  wa.s  to  pass  a 
lono-  dav  under  the  summer  sun  in  farm  work  ;  what  it  was  to  write 
twelve  hours  a  day  in  an  office.  Yet  he  was  more  than  a  laborer; 
he  appreciated  those  qualities  in  strong,  sagacious  minds  by  which 
thev  can  combine  and  direct  others,  and  lead  great  enterprises  to 
success.  He  studied  the  wants  of  all  impartially  in  framing  legis- 
lation, but  his  heart  inclined  instinctively  to  the  great  nudtitude 
who  can  not  come  to  Washingt(»n  and  plead  their  cause  before  com- 
mittees— the  people  at  large,  upon  whom  the  law  must  operate. 

In  promoting  the  interests  of  his  constituents  he  was  watchful 
and  loval  to  them  first.     He  represented  a  district   where  there  is 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HITT,  OF  ILLINOIS.  13 

much  intlopendent  political  thought  and  intelligent  criticism,  and 
he  satisfied  the  demands  of"  locality  without  sacrificing  his  convic- 
tions on  national  interest  and  the  fairly  balanced  claims  of"  every 
section.  In  the  daily  work  of  caring  for  the  numberless  inquiries, 
wants,  and  applications  of  his  people,  his  work  was  arduous  and 
faithful.  I  remember  to  have  read  a  letter  from  him  in  which  he 
remarked  at  the  close,  "  This  is  the  fifty-sixth  letter  I  have  written 
to-day."  Between  applicants  upon  whose  claims  he  had  to  pass  he 
tried  earnestly  to  be'  fair,  studied  each  case  anxiously,  lest  by  some 
mistake  in  judgment  or  imperfect  information  he  might  do  injustice 
to  some  worthy  man.  Every  member  here  knows  how  often  this 
duty  falls  upon  a  Representative  and  how  delicate  and  difficult  a  task 
it  sometimes  is. 

He  satisfied  his  constituents — no  easy  task,  for  that  Galena  dis- 
trict had  been  accustomed  to  being  represented  by  men  of  national 
reputation,  Baker,  Washburne,  Burchard,  ivith  ^vhom  he  would  be 
compared.  But  the  people  appreciated  his  solid  qualities,  his 
worth,  his  faithful  services.  They  trusted  and  honored  him  again 
and  again,  and  when  he  was  cut  off  so  untimely  they  mourned  his 
death  as  a  personal  sorrow. 

In  the  cemetery  hard  by  that  picturesque  town  of  Mount  Carroll, 
on  a  hillside  of  lawn,  and  scattered  trees,  and  flower-beds  that 
brighten  graves,  he  was  buried,  and  there  on  the  sp(jt  where  the 
maimed  soldier,  his  last  march  finished,  has  laid  down  in  the  bivouac 
of  the  dead,  friendly  and  loving  care  has  erected  a  monument,  high, 
massive,  pure,  like  the  stainless  man  who  sleeps  beneath,  to  com- 
memorate his  name.  Even  more  durable  than  the  century-defying 
stone  is  the  work  of  a  true  life,  and  this  plain,  earnest  man  whom 
we  honor  to-day  did  that  work  well  as  a  citizen  whose  influence 
was  always  on  the  side  of  right,  as  a  soldier  who  gave  all  and 
suffered  much,  as  a  public  officer  ever  faithful,  as  a  legislator  wise 
and  careful,  as  a  Christian  devout  in  his  heart  and  exemplary  in 
his  walk  before  God  and  man  until  he  was  taken  to  a  life  beyond 
life. 


14        LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 


Address  of  Mr.  Sher\a^in,  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Speaker:  Death's  pale  flag  has  been  planted  in  our  midst 
many  times  during  the  last  yea^.  Out  from  this  busy  arena  it  has 
led  us  once,  twice,  thrice,  yes,  many  times,  and  shown  us  glimpses 
of  the  endless  hereiifter  and  beyond.  Its  somber  folds  float  over  us 
at  this  hour.  It  emphasizes  the  perishableness  of  human  life.  It 
suggests  the  littleness  and  futility  of  ambition.  We  are  ready  to 
exclaim  as  we  sit  in  its  shadow,  "  How  frail  we  are ! " 

liast  Wednesday  this  House  honored  itself  in  honoring  the 
memory  of  Mr.  Orth.  Saturday  last  it  pronounced  its  eulogies 
upon  Mr.  Lowe,  and  to-day  we  suspend  the  business  of  the  nation 
to  do  honor  to  the  names  and  characters  of  two  more  of  our  associ- 
ates— Updegrafp  and  Hawk.  They  were  both  known  to  us  by 
their  constant  attendance  upon  the  sessions  of  the  House,  by  their 
careful  attention  to  its  business,  by  their  zeal  and  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  all  their  public  duties. 

Mr.  Hawk  was  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect  and  love. 
His  friends  were  attracted  to  him  so  strongly  that  they  never  fell 
away,  and  to-day  I  think  of  him  as  my  friend,  warm,  generous,  and 
true.  I  cannot  think  of  him  as  a  member  of  this  House  alone — 
his  position  is  lost  in  the  contcm})lation  of  his  social  qualities. 

I  never  saw  Mr.  Hawk  until  we  met  here  at  the  first  session  of 
the  Forty-sixth  Congress.  He  represented  that  district  so  long 
ably  represented  here  by  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburne,  and  afterward  by 
the  distinguished  gentleman,  the  present  Director  of  the  Mint.  The 
home  of  General  Grant  and  others  distinguished  in  military  and 
civil  life  were  in  his  district  and  in  the  county  adjoining  the  one  in 
which  he  resided.  That  district  comprises  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  prosperous  communities  in  Illinois  or  the  whole  land.  It 
is  filled  with  churches,  schools,  and  public  libraries.  It  contains 
many  prosperous  towns  and  its  agricultural  resources  are  without 
limit. 

It  was  in  such  a  country,  among  such  a  people,  near  the  banks 
of  the  Father  of  Waters,  that  Mr.  Hawk  grew  up  to  manhood  and 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  SHERWIN,  OF  ILLINOIS.  15 

resided  until  his  death.  He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  of 
parents  who  were  originally  from  Virginia,  but  removed  to  Illinois 
when  Mr.  Hawk  was  but  a  mere  lad.  He  was  brought  up  upon 
his  father's  farm  in  Carroll  County,  and  received  his  education  in 
the  common  schools  of  the  neighborhood  and  at  Eureka  College, 
where  he  took  a  partial  course.  His  education  was  not  completed 
when  the  war  broke  out.  In  common  with  the  tens  of  thousands 
of  stalwart  young  men  of  the  country,  he  left  all  to  follow  the  flag. 
His  was  not  the  wild  impulse  of  blind,  unthinking  enthusiasm,  but 
the  cool,  earnest  deliberation  of  a  young  patriot  who  had  mastered 
the  history  of  his  country,  who  l^elieved  that  the  hopes  of  the  world 
were  bound  up  with  our  Constitution  and  our  laws,  and  that  it  was 
a  duty  which  every  man  owed  to  such  a  country  to  be  ready  to  die 
for  it  when  the  time  should  come.  He  laid  aside  his  books,  he 
surrendered  his  plans  of  life,  and  stepped  into  the  ranks  as  a  pri- 
vate soldier,  saying,  "  Ask  of  mo  what  thou  wilt  and  I  will  dare." 

He  rose  to  the  rank  of  captain  in  his  regiment,  the  Ninety-sixth 
Illinois,  and  was  frequently  in  command  of  a  battalion  and  in- 
trusted with  the  execution  of  movements  which  required  great  vigor 
and  sagacity  as  well  as  bravery,  and  in  every  place  he  acquitted  him- 
self with  honor  and  with  entire  satisfaction  to  his  superior  officers. 
For  these  services  he  was  l)revetted  a  major  in  his  regiment.  He 
had  gone  through  all  the  war  without  receiving  any  bodily  injury 
until  almost  the  very  last  day  that  any  fighting  was  done,  when  he 
received  a  wound  in  his  leg  which  caused  its  amputation.  He 
sealed  his  country's  triumph  with  his  blood.  Henceforth  he  was  to 
go  through  life  maimed.  He  accepted  his  fortune  with  manliness 
and  after  a  long  time  of  suffering  in  the  hos])ital  returned  to  his 
home.  He  was  at  once  placed  by  the  citizens  of  his  county  in  the 
office  of  county  clerk,  a  position  which  he  continued  to  hold  until 
he  was  elected  to  the  Forty-sixth  Congress.  He  was  renominated 
by  his  party  to  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  without  opposition,  and 
had  he  lived  one  day  longer  would  have  been  renominated  for  the 
Forty-eighth  Congress,  as  the  convention  had  been  called  to  meet 
the  day  after  his  death  and  the  primaries  had  instructed  for  him. 

In  his  service  here  he  was  always  governed  by  the  highest  and 


16         LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.   HAWK. 

purest  motives.  He  gave  all  his  time  aud  all  his  strength  to  the 
performance  of  his  duties.  He  studied  the  questions  before  the 
House  with  conscientious  care,  and  having  formed  his  judgments 
followed  them  implicity.  He  never  posed  for  effect.  He  was  sin- 
cere in  all  his  acts  and  thoughts — a  hater  of  cant  and  pretense.  In 
all  matters  affecting  the  pensioners  of  the  Government  he  took  a 
great  interest.  His  sympathies  for  those  disabled  in  the  service  of 
the  country  were  active  and  constant,  and  yet  restrained  by  moder- 
ation. He  was  indefatigable  in  the  performance  of  all  his  Depart- 
ment duties.  No  labor  was  too  great  which  seemed  to  be  demanded 
by  his  constituents.  The  most  trivial  matters  of  this  character  were 
attended  to  with  the  same  care  bestowed  upon  the  more  important. 
Mr.  Haavk  did  not  escape  detraction.  Although  he  was  a  man 
of  the  highest  motives  and  most  honorable  in  all  his  intercourse 
with  men,  he  was  assaulted  by  slander  and  defamation  of  the  most 
violent  kind ,  but  he  overcame  his  assailants  and  his  triumph  was 
assured.  No  one  can  fully  know,  Mr.  Speaker,  how  much  he  suf- 
fered from  these  assaults.  He  was  extremely  sensitive,  and  such 
charges  caused  him  more  pain  than  the  gunshots  of  an  enemy  ;  but 
his  sufferings  were  buried  in  his  own  bosom  and  were  only  known 
as  they  were  accidentally  revealed,  Politic^d  life  was  not  pleasant 
to  him.  He  intended  to  retire  fnnn  it  at  the  close  of  his  third 
term  and  devote  himself  to  the  education  of  his  family  and  the  en- 
joyment of  his  home.  All  the  pride  of  his  life  was  centered  in  that 
home.  All  his  hopes  of  worldly  happiness  clustered  around  it. 
His  was  a  Christian's  life.  For  many  yesirs  he  had  belonged  to 
the  church  called  Christian,  and  in  every  walk  of  life  had  followed 
its  teachings  consistently.  He  was  one  of  the  building  committee  of 
the  Vermont  Avenue  Christian  Church  in  this  city.  His  private 
life  was  illuminated  by  Christian  truth,  and  was  as  pure  as  a  child's. 
He  was  devoid  of  all  envy  and  selfishness,  all  unworthy  ambition. 
I  can  say  of  him  as  Charles  Lamb  said  of  another : 

From  all  self-seeking,  envy,  low  design, 
I  have  not  found  a  whiter  soul  than  thine. 

We  buried  him  at  sunset  in  the  cemetery  of  the  village  where  he 

was  known  so  well.     His  neighbors,  for  many  miles  in  all  direc- 


ADDRESS   OF  MR.  ROSECRANS,  OF  CALIFORNIA.  17 

tions,  came  with  sad  and  sorrowing  faces  to  pay  their  trilnite  of  tears 
to  his  memory.  The  aged  grandfathers  who  had  known  him  from 
his  boyhood  were  there.  The  comrades  who  had  marched  and 
fought  with  him  were  there.  The  associates  of  his  later  life  were 
there,  and  even  the  children  of  the  village  joined  their  lamentations 
with  those  of  his  nearest  friends.  There  we  left  him,  our  brother 
and  our  friend,  with  the  peace  of  God  in  all  his  looks. 

Let  the  lifeless  body  rest ; 
He  is  gone  who  was  its  guest — 
Goue,  as  travelers  haste  to  leave 
An  inn,  nor  tarry  until  eve. 
Traveler,  in  what  realms  afar, 
In  what  planet,  in  wh.it  star. 
In  what  vast  aerial  space, 
Shines  the  light  upon  thy  face  ? 
In  what  gardens  of  delight 
Rest  thy  weary  feet  to-night  ? 


Address  of  Mr.  Rosecrans,  of  California. 

Mr.  Speaker:  It  is  the  office  of  personal  friendship  to  speak  of 
him  in  his  private  life;  of  political  associates  to  tell  of  him  as 
he  appeared  among  them,  faithful  to  his  convictions,  generous,  tol- 
erant of  their  opinions,  firm  in  the  maintenance  of  his  own. 

The  few  words  I  have  to  speak  in  memory  of  our  deceased  col- 
league will  be  as  a  comrade  of  the  Union  Army  and  as  the  com- 
mander under  whom  he  served  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland. 

An  old  English  poet  says : 

The  glories  of  our  birth  and  state 

Are  shadows,  not  suVjstautial  things. 
There  is  no  armor  agaiust  fate  ; 
Death  lays  his  icy  hand  on  kings; 
Scepter  and  crown 
Must  tumble  down 
And  in  the  dnst  be  equal  made 
With  the  poor  crooked  scythe  and  spade. 


0174- 


18  LIFE  AND  OHARACTFAt  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

/  The  garlands  wither  on  your  brow  ; 

Then  boast  no  more  your  mighty  deeds; 
Upon  death's  purple  altar  now 

See  where  the  victor  victim  blced.s! 
All  heads  must  come 
To  the  cold  tomb  ; 
Only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust. 

But  what  this  poet  says  of  the  leveler  Death  is  measurably  true 
of  all  great  and  transcendent  human  interests,  in  comparison  with 
which  those  of  the  individual  dwarf  into  insignificance.  Such  a 
transcendent  fact  was  the  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the  unity  of 
this  nation,  in  the  presence  of  which  the  soldier  and  the  officer,  the 
private  and  the  general  became  comi*ades  in  the  common  cause. 

The  muses  of  poetry  and  of  history,  imparting  their  lessons  by 
instance,  example,  impress  all  our  minds  with  the  idea  that  heroism 
is  a  natural  endowment  and  inheres  in  the  person  of  the  hero.  But 
whoever  will  reflect  on  his  own  experience  of  what  impresses  him 
and  comj)are  it  with  what  lie  knows  of  others  and  of  heroes  in  his- 
tory will  find  that  trueherosim  lies  in  domination  over  ordinary  hu- 
man motives  on  account  of  something  believed  to  be  greater  and  bet- 
ter. 

The  degree  of  the  heroism  depends  on  the  extent  to  which  the  ac- 
tion overpasses  and  dominates  ordinary  motives,  interest,  and  pas- 
sions, and  the  greatness  of  the  object  for  which  these  sacrifit^es  are 
made. 

Maidvind  finds  something  heroic  in  the  endurance  of  labor  and 
of  suffering,  even  for  future  personal  advantage  and  renown,  but 
a  still  hio;her  degree  of  it  when  that  endurance  and  labor  are  for 
the  o-ood  of  others  or  for  the  love  of  truth  in  science  or  in  art. 

Greater  still  do  we  regard  the  heroism  of  him  who  perils  life  to 
save  the  lives  of  others. 

When  the  storm  howls  over  the  face  of  the  ocean  ;  when  the 
fierce  waves,  like  devouring  demons,  assault  the  passenger-laden 
ship  off  some  inhospitable  coast;  when  they  breach  the  walls  which 
protect  the  lives  of  all  on  board,  wlK»se  heart  does  not  l)eat  with 
admiration  to  see  the  frail   life-saving  boat  and  crew  start  through 


ADDRESS  OF  MR    ROSECRANS,  OF  CALIFORNIA.  19 

the  storm  and  waves  into  the  jaws  of  death  to  save  imperiled  pas- 
sengers and  crew  ? 

But  if  such  heroic  acts  command  unreserved  admiration,  what 
measure  of  it  shall  be  given  to  those  men  who,  unskilled  and  un- 
trained to  arms,  went  to  save  our  ship  of  state  from  wreck,  and  all 
the  hopes  it  bore — the  hopes  of  fifty  millions  of  people,  the  hopes 
of  their  posterity  for  unborn  generations,  and  of  the  liberty-seek- 
ing millions  of  all  the  world  for  all  coming  time — staked  on  the 
success  of  this  great  and  peculiar  experiment  to  demonstrate  the 
practicability  of  self-government  in  the  world. 

In  the  presence  of  a  work  so  great  all  minor  heroisms  dwindle 
into  insignificance,  and  all  actors  in  it,  whether  of  lofty  or  of  hum- 
ble rank,  become  comrades  in  the  grand  army  engaged  in  a  com- 
mon cause  of  such  immeasurable  grandeur. 

lu  this  sense  our  deceased  colleague  and  I  were  comrades. 
Young,  tall,  handsome,  of  a  noble,  generous  nature,  he  early  re- 
sponded to  his  country's  call  for  defenders,  and  while  with  me  had 
become  a  captain  in  the  Ninety-second  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry, 
in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  rendered  arduous,  brave,  gal- 
lant, and  effective  service,  the  details  of  which  are  told  by  others. 
He  was  on  courier  duty  with  his  command  during  the  campaign  of 
Chattanooga,  and  at  my  head(juarters  during  the  bloody  but  to  us 
glorious  field  of  Chickamauga,  which  stemmed  the  hostile  tide 
and  gave  us  Chattanooga,  the  objective  of  our  campaign.  He  did 
his  duty  nobly  at  the  head  of  his  command ;  was  with  me  at  the 
point  and  moment  of  supreme  danger  in  the  Ijattle.  More  words 
might  be  said,  l)ut  could  higher  eulogy  be  pronounced  (^n  him  or 
on  any  of  all  the  brave  men  who  served  in  such  a  cause  ?  God 
bless  them,  each  and  all  !  Living  may  they  be  honored  and 
blessed  by  all  who  live  beneath  the  flag,  and  dying  be  regretted  as 
he  is  regretted  over  whose  death  we  are  now  expressing  our  sor- 
rowful respect. 


20  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 


Address  of  Mr.  Henderson,  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Speaker:  I  regret  that  I  am  n<jt  better  pre})ared  to  ?-peak 
of  tlie  life  and  character  of  my  late  friend  and  colleague,  Major 
Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  than  I  am  to-day.  I  had  met  Major  Hawk 
before  he  was  elected  a  member  of  this  body,  and  had  a  somewhat 
slight  but  pleasant  acquaintance  with  him ;  but  I  was  not  then  and 
am  not  now  familiar  with  his  early  history,  and  will  therefore  not 
attempt  to  speak  of  his  early  life  further  than  to  say  that  he  was  a 
native  of  Hancock  County,  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  and  emigrate<l 
with  his  father's  family  at  an  early  age  t(j  Carroll  County,  in  the 
State  of  Illinois,  in  which  last  State  he  was  educated  at  Kureka 
College. 

Major  Hawk  was  a  soldier  in  the  late  war.  When  tweuty-three 
years  of  age  he  enlisted  as  a  volunteer,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  Sep- 
tember, 1862,  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States 
as  a  first  lieutenant  in  the  Ninety-second  Regiment  of  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until  the  23d  day  of 
March,  1863,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  captain,  and 
served  as  such  until  the  21st  day  of  June,  1865,  at  which  time, 
having  served  nearly  three  years,  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  serv- 
ice. Of  the  conduct  of  Major  Hawk  while  in  the  service  as  an 
officer  and  soldier  I  have  no  personal  knowledge.  I  know  he  was 
woundinl  in  an  engagement  with  the  enemy  near  Raleigh,  North 
Carolina,  on  the  10th  day  of  April,  1865,  from  which  wound  he 
lost  his  right  leg,  and  that  he  was  brevetted  a  major  for  soldierly 
conduct  on  that  occasion. 

I  know  also  that  every  pulsation  of  his  heart  beat  with  i)atriotie 
devotion  for  his  country ;  that  he  loved  this  great  Republic  with  a 
love  as  deep  and  strong  as  the  love  of  his  own  life,  which  he  periled 
fiir  its  preservation  and  perpetuation;  and  from  his  reputation  and 
mv  knowledge  now  of  his  character  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying 
that  he  was  during  his  service  a  brave,  faithful,  and  efficient  officer 
and  soldier. 


ADDRESS  OF  MB.  HENDERSON,  OF  ILLINOIS.  21 

On  his  return  from  the  Army  to  civil  life  Major  Hawk  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  county  court  of  Carroll  County,  where  he  had 
lived  from  boyhood.  In  that  office  he  served  the  people  so  accepta- 
bly and  with  such  fidelity  and  ability  that  he  was  three  times  suc- 
cessively re-elected,  and  he  held  the  ofiice  until  in  1878,  when  he 
was  nominated  and  elected  a  member  of  the  Forty-sixth  Congress 
from  the  fifth  Congressional  district  of  Illinois.  Having  been 
re-elected  in  1880  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-seventh  Congress,  he 
held  a  seat  in  this  body  from  the  4th  day  of  March,  1879,  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  this  city,  after  a  very  brief  illness,  on 
the  29th  day  of  June,  1882. 

As  a  Representative  in  Congress  Major  Hawk  won  not  only 
the  sympathy  but  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  associates  and 
fellow-members.  On  his  entrance  here  as  a  member  of  this  body 
he  was  an  inexperienced  legislator.  But  feeling  the  full  force  of 
the  responsibilities  resting  upon  him,  he  at  once  addressed  himself 
to  his  public  duties  with  an  earnest  desire  to  discharge  them  intel- 
ligently and  faithfully.  And  those  of  us,  Mr.  Speaker,  who  served 
with  him  and  who  knew  him  during  his  service  in  Congress  will 
well  remember  how  punctually  he  took  his  seat,  and  how  faithfully 
he  observed  the  proceedings  of  the  House  during  its  sessions. 

As  his  colleague  and  friend  I  was  brought  in  almost  daily  asso- 
ciation with  Major  Hawk,  and  I  can  bear  testimony  to  the  con- 
scientious, able,  and  faithful  manner  in  which  he  served  his  con- 
stituents and  the  country.  He  was  an  honorable,  upright,  useful 
member  of  this  House,  and  during  all  his  service  here  he  brought 
no  reproach  upon  his  good  name,  nor  did  he  bring  any  upon  his 
constituents  who  had  honored  him  with  their  confidence. 

The  death  of  Major  Hawk,  Mr.  Speaker,  was  so  sudden  and 
unexpected  as  to  be  a  shock  to  us  all.  He  had  but  just  returned 
from  a  contest  in  the  new  district  in  which  he  had  been  ]Ua(  sd  by 
the  legislature  of  our  State.  And  having  carried  every  «^unty  in 
the  district,  and  being  assured  of  a  nomination  and  election  as  a 
member  of  the  Forty-eighth  Congress,  he  was  in  good  spifits  and 
looking  remarkably  well.  But  surely  Death  hath  all  seasons  for 
his  own.     And  in  the  flush  of  a  great  triumph,  and  after  an  illness 


22  LIFE  JXD  CHARACTER  OE  ROBEET  M.  A.  HAWK. 

of  l>iit  a  tew  liniirs,  that  noble,  manly  form,  that  strong,  robust 
man,  \va.-;  silent  in  death.  And  the  hearts  of  all  of  us  who  had 
>ieen  him  from  day  to  day  as  he  came  into  and  went  out  of  this 
Hall  were  filled  with  sorrow. 

Mr.  Speaker,  Major  Hawk  was  a  high-minded  and  honon»ble 
man.  He  had  a  noble,  manly,  generous  nature.  He  was  just  and 
true  in  all  the  relations  of  life;  and  in  his  death  we  have  lost  a 
faithful  Representative,  and  the  country  a  good  citizen  and  a  ster- 
ling patriot. 


Address  of  Mr.  Carpenter,  of  Iowa. 

Mr.  Speakkh  :  Major  Kohekt  M.  A.  Hawk  was  one  of  nature's 
noblemen.  He  was  a  large-framed,  large-brained,  large-hearted 
man.  In  peace  he  was  a  patriotic,  public-spirited  citizen  ;  in  war 
he  was  an  intrepid,  self-denying  soldier.  He  illustrated  in  his  pri- 
vate life  and  in  his  public  career  the  best  type  of  American  man- 
hood. It  was  my  good  fortune  to  know  him  well,  and  I  hope  1 
am  the  better  man  for  having  known  him.  On  coming  to  Wash- 
ington as  a  new  member  at  the  opening  of  the  extra  session  of  the 
Forty-sixth  Congress  it  so  happened  that  I  made  my  home  at  the 
same  house  with  Major  Hawk.  I  soon  made  his  acquaintance,  and 
very  soon  came  to  appreciate  his  worth.  At  the  close  of  the  daily 
scvssious  I  would  fretpiently  linger  and  walk  with  him  to  the  horse- 
cars  on  the  way  to  our  temporary  home.  As  he  had  lost  a  leg  at 
the  battle  of  Bentonville,  and  as  the  amputation  had  left  but  a  short 
stump,  and  of  a  character  that  would  never  admit  of  his  wearing  a 
cork  leg,  he  uece.ssarily  in  walking  carried  a  cane  in  one  hand,  and 
in  the  other  a  sort  of  substitute  for  the  missing  limb  improvised 
for  his  special  use,  and  which  had  U)  be  held  constantly  to  its  place. 
This  employment  of  both  hands,  addetl  to  the  disadvantage  of  his 
large  physical  frame,  rendered  walking  to  him  a  slow  and  difficult 
process.  He  frefpiently,  therefore,  in  the  delicate  sensil)ility  of  his 
nature,  more  than  half  remonstrated  with  me  for  lingering  after 
the  day's  adjournment  to  keep  him  company  to  our  home. 

But  as   I  turned  the  conversation  upon  some  other  subje<-t  and 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CARPENTER,  OF  IOWA.  23 

walked  alonj.;  with  him,  on  more  than  one  o(^(^asion,  'n\  i\\Q.  abandon 
of"  familiar  conver.sation,  he  opened  to  me  the  windows  of  hissonl, 
so  that  I  think  I  ean  estimate  the  unselfishness,  the  generosity,  and 
the  purity  of  the  man.  We  talked  of  the  war,  of  its  incidents,  of 
the  men  of  that  stirring  period,  and  of  the  men  and  measures  of  to- 
day. I  have  said  that  I  hoped  I  was  the  better  man  for  ray  short 
association  with  him.  His  example  was  more  than  a  sermon. 
Notwithstanding  he  had  been  sadly  maimed  in  the  service  of  his 
country  and  knew  that  all  the  residue  of  his  days,  whether  few  or 
many,  must  be  clouded  with  his  paniful  loss,  yet  I  never  heard  him 
speak  an  unkind  word  of  man  or  men  or  utter  a  syllable  of  regret 
for  any  service  he  had  made  in  the  line  of  a  patriot's  duty. 

No  more  than  a  fortnight  before  his  d^ath,  while  riding  at  his 
side  from  the  Capitol,  the  death  of  Major  Farr,  of  New  Hampshire 
(who  had  lost  an  arm  in  the  war),  was  mentioned,  when  he  remarked 
that  the  men  who  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  limbs  in  the  great  re- 
bellion were  fast  passing  away.  And  he  went  on  to  say  that  it  had 
been  estimated  that  persons  thus  wounded  did  not,  on  an  average, 
live  to  be  more  than  from  40  to  45  years  old ;  and  then  he  said, 
with  a  tinge  of  sadness  in  his  voice,  that  the  Great  Harvester  would 
doubtless  reach  out  his  sickle  for  him  before  many  years.  It  Avas 
not  more  than  two  or  three  weeks  after  ihis  conversation  that,  u])on 
returningto  ray  rooms  after  a  day  spent  at  the  Capitol,  my  wife  said  to 
me,  •'  Do  you  know  that  Major  Hawk  is  sick  ?  "  I  replied  that  I 
did  not;  and  I  thought  it  hardly  possible,  as  I  had  seen  him  but 
the  evening  before,  and  he  had  seemed  in  perfect  health.  But  she 
said,  "  He  was  taken  sick  this  morning,  and  the  doctor  has  called 
to  see  hira  two  or  three  times  during  the  day,  and  seems  to  be  con- 
cerned about  him."  I  went  immediately  to  his  room,  and  taking 
hira  by  the  hand,  said,  "  Major,  I  have  just  learned  that  you  were 
sick."     He  replied,  falteringly,  "  Carpenter,  I  ara  very  sick." 

In  a  moment  he  signified  by  a  sign  that  he  wanted  to  be  raised 
np.  The  doctor  and  attending  friend  raised  him  upright,  and  pil- 
lows were  disposed  so  that  he  could  recline  upon  them  ;  but  this 
had  scarcely  been  done  before  he  wanted  thera  removed,  and  after 
lying  down  was  for  a  moment  in  great  agony  ;  then  said  :  "  If  I 
was  turned  upon  my  side  I  believe  I  could  go  to  sleep."     At  the 


24  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

request  of  the  doctor  the  gentleman  who  had  been  with  him  during 
the  day  ran  for  another  physician,  and  I  hastened  to  another  part 
of  the  house  for  a  restorative  ;  was  back  in  two  minutes,  but  in 
less  than  five  minutes  from  my  return,  and  before  the  consulting 
physician  had  arrived,  all  was  over. 

Thus  ended  the  earthly  existence  of  Major  Hawk.  He  wa.'<  in 
the  prime  of  life,  if  we  count  life  by  its  years  ;  but  counting  it  by 
what  he  had  done  for  his  country,  his  family,  and  the  world,  he 
had  lived  longer  than  many  of  us  who  survive  him.  The  very 
dav  after  his  death  a  convention  assembled  in  his  district  to  nomi- 
nate a  candidate  for  the  Forty-eighth  Congress.  If  I  remember 
rightly  every  delegation  had  been  instructed  for  Major  Hawk  ex- 
cept from  a  single  county.  So  he  died  at  the  high-noon  of  life  and 
on  the  field  of  triumph.  He  died  mourned  by  a  grateful  constit- 
uency, and  by  comrades  who  had  touched  elbows  with  him  where 
heroes  stood  shoulder  to  shouldtT.  1  cannot  better  emphasize  his 
military  history  than  by  making  one  or  two  brief  extracts  from  let- 
ters Avritten  by  officers  of  his  regiment.  First,  from  his  command- 
ing officer.     He  says: 

R.  M.  A.  Hawk  oulisted  as  a  private  at  TiUiiark,  Illinois,  in  An^iist,  18f>2, 
and  was  elected  a  second  lieutenant,  and  ninstered  as  sndi  .Septenilier  4,  1S(;2, 
the  company  becoii.ing  Company  C*,  Ninety  second  Illinois  Infantry. 

He  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  at  Danville,  Kentucky,  January  21,  186:5, 
and  served  with  that  rank  until  the  close  of  the  war,  always  on  duty,  willinjif, 
painstaking,  intellijjent ;  cool  and  courageous  in  the  performance  of  every 
duty,  in  camp,  upoji  the  marcli,  and  upon  the  battle-field;  endearing  himself 
by  his  manly,  noble,  and  soldierly  qualities  to  his  commanding  officers,  his 
associates,  and  the  men  under  his  command.  As  his  immediate  commanding 
officer,  I  soon  learned  to  rely  upon  him  with  implicit  confidence  that  ripened 
into  personal  friendship ;  and  I  often  gave  him  commands  on  special  occa- 
sions when  I  required  an  officer  of  his  rank  at  important  outi)()sls  or  for  dan- 
gerous scouting  duty.  He  was  so  modest  that  he  always  distrusted  his  own 
ability,  never  seeking  any  special  commands,  but  was  so  true  and  faithful 
that  I  often  imposed  upon  him  dangerous  duties  out  of  his  turn.  And  he  met 
every  duty  with  quiet  dignity  and  admirable  courage  and  judgment ;  faithful 
and  steadfast  as  was  possible  for  the  bravest  soldier. 

From  the  letter  of  another  officer  of  his  regiment  I  venture  to 
pluck  one  or  two  laurel  wreaths  to  decorate  his  new-made  grave. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CARPENTER,  OF  IOWA.  25 

After  speaking  of  his  personal  sorrow  upon  learning  of  his  death, 

he  says  : 

I  first  met  Major  Hawk  at  Camp  Fuller,  Rockl'onl.  His  fine  persKiial  ap- 
pearance on  dress-parade  attracted  my  attention.  In  height  over  six  feet, 
straight  as  an  arrow,  and  clad  in  his  bright  uniform  of  blue,  he  looked  every 
inch  the  graud  soldier  he  afterward  became. 

The  writer  then  relates  the  fact  that  they  became  friends  ;  and 
for  three  years,  on  the  march,  in  the  bivouac,  and  in  the  terrible 
ordeal  of  battle,  whenever  and  wherever  tested,  the  manliness  of 
his  nature  and  the  strength  of  his  character  became  more  and  more 
apparent. 

Finally,  when  the  last  fiery  trial  of  his  military  life  came  to  him, 
this  officer  stood  by  his  side.     I  will  relate  it  in  his  own  words : 

When  he  fell  so  terribly  wounded  in  our  last  battle,  an  armistice  occurring 
between  the  two  armies,  I  followed  him  to  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  and  stood 
by  him  during  his  terrible  suffering.  The  surgeons  when  about  to  amputate 
his  limb  told  him  he  might  not  survive  the  operation,  and  if  he  wished  to  say 
anything  he  had  better  do  so.  He  then  looked  up  at  me  and  said  :  "Major,  1 
wish  to  whisper  to  you."  I  drew  close  beside  his  couch,  leaned  over  my  heail, 
and  1  e  whispered  in  my  ear  these  words:  "  If  I  die,  tell  my  folks  at  home  I 
was  proud  to  give  my  life  for  my  country  ;  I  was  proud  to  die  for  the  old  flag. 
And  then  should  they  ask  about  my  spiritual  welfare,  say  to  them  that  death 
had  no  terrors  for  me  ;  that  I  was  prepared  to  die."  He  then  looked  at  the 
surgeons  and  spoke  to  them  as  calmly  and  coolly  as  when  on  dress-parade, 
saying  :  "  Gentlemen,  proceed;  I  am  ready." 

Such  was  Major  Hawk  as  a  citizen  soldier.  What  he  was  as  a 
Congressman  you,  Mr.  Speaker,  well  know.  He  sat  so  near  tlie 
Speaker's  chair  that  when  present  he  could  not  be  unobserved  by 
you  ;  and,  sir,  you  seldom  saw  his  seat  vacant.  He  was  as  faith- 
ful to  the  great  trust  which  the  people  of  the  fifth  district  of  Illi- 
nois had  imposed  upon  him  as  he  was  to  his  duty  when  on  picket 
in  the  forests  of  Georgia,  under  regulations  that  affixed  the  pen- 
alty of  death  to  the  crime  of  sleeping  on  his  post.  But  I  need  not 
enlarge.  We  all  know  with  what  discriminating  judgment  and  con- 
scientious fidelity  he  discharged  his  duties  here. 

He,  however,  was  more  than  a  soldier,  he  was  more  than  a  clerk 
of  courts,  he  was  more  than  a  Congressman ;  in  every  element  of 
his  nature  he  was  a  man.     He  was  an  honest,  sincere,  clean-handed, 


26  LIFE  AND  CNARACTEE  OF  EOBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

Avhite-souled  citizen.  He  was  a  kind  and  ol)ligin^  neighbor.  He 
was  the  faithfnl  hnsbandof  a  h)ving  wife.  He  was  the  generons 
father  of  adoring  children.  In  tlie  conijianionship  of  his  honseliold 
he  was  the  equal,  the  friend,  and  the  confidant  of  every  member  of 
his  family,  from  the  wife  to  the  five-year-old  boy  that  ran  laughing 
to  meet  him  as  he  returned  from  his  daily  duties.  Need  I  say  more? 
If  there  be  life  beyond  the  grave,  and  character  here  is  an  earnest 
of  character  and  condition  there,  then  those  who  knew  Robert  M. 
A.  Hawk  need  no  assurance  that  when  he  stej)pcd  from  this  hall 
into  the  shadowy  reahn  the  door  swung  wide  upon  its  hinges  for 
his  admission  to  a  mansion  not  made  with  hands. 


Address  of  Mr.  Curtin,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Speakkh  :  The  story  of  the  life  of  our  dead  coUcagne  has  been 
faithfully  told,  and  in  the  few  remarks  1  have  to  make  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  repeat  it. 

I  learned  to  know  Major  Hawk  early  on  my  first  entrance  into 
this  Hall  as  a  member  and  knew  him  well  and  was  honored  by  his 
friendship.  It  would  be  false  to  his  memory  if  J  were  to  attciu|)t 
to  exalt  him  into  a  great  orator  or  statesman  or  philost)pher.  Much 
better  and  mora  useful  in  all  the  avocations  of  life,  he  was  an  honest, 
pure-minded,  upright  man  of  broad  common  sense  and  gentle,  kind 
nature. 

I  am  quite  sure  it  is  proper  fijr  me  to  refer  to  one  circumstance 
in  his  official  conduct  which  illustrates  his  unselfishness  and  his  deli- 
cate estimate  of  propriety  when  he  had  a  personal  interest  in  the 
result  of  his  action.  When  the  committee  of  which  I  was  a  mem- 
ber had  under  consideration  the  bill  introduced  into  this  House, 
and  to  the  honor  of  its  members  passed  unanimously,  to  give  a  pen- 
sion of  $40  a  month  to  those  who  had  lost  an  arm  or  a  leg  in  the 
military  service  in  the  late  unhappy  civil  war  Major  Hawk  refused 
to  vote,  I  tried  to  persuade  him  tliat  he  was  quite  too  sensitive ; 
but,  offering  as  a  reason  that  it  would  add  to  his  income  $200  a 
year,  he  refused.  And  that  bill  was  carried  through  the  committee 
and  reported  to  this  House  in  his  absence. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  CURTIN,  OF  PENXSYLFANTJ.  27 

It  Avas  a  pk'asaut  exhibition  here,  whieh  we  have  just  had  given 
us  [referring  to  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Wlieeler]  from  a  gallant  soldier 
below  the  line,  who  has  just  paid  a  tribute  so  beautiful  and  truth- 
ful to  the  memory  of  our  late  colleague,  supplemented  bv  the  eulogy 
of  his  commander  (General  Rosecrans),  soldiers  who  were  enemies 
and  now  in  friendship  paying  the  homage  of  respect  soldiers  justly 
feel  for  the  martial  virtues.  The  history  of  his  life  and  his  services, 
the  exhibition  of  the  purity  of  his  character  is  creditable  to  his  col- 
leagues and  his  friends  and  has  been  fitly  spoken. 

His  attachment  to  his  family,  and  the  sorrow  of  that  home  circle, 
is  a  subject  quite  too  sacred  for  the  formal  demonstration  on  this  oc- 
casion. There  we  should  not  enter.  God  struck  the  husband  and 
father  and  God  will  pour  balsam  and  balm  into  the  Avounds  he  has 
inflicted  on  the  bereaved  family,  and  nothing  that  can  be  said  here 
can  in  the  least  relieve  their  deep  sorrow. 

It  is  for  mortal  man  to  die,  as  we  have  been  frequently  reminded 
during  this  Congress.  It  is  for  those  who  live  to  so  discharge  their 
duties,  personal  and  relative,  that  when  they  die  their  memory  will 
be  preserved.  When  a  good  man  dies  there  is  a  void  in  society, 
an  aching  void  which  it  seems  impossible  to  fill.  But  when  a  man 
dies  who  has  failed  to  fulfill  his  duties  to  man  and  his  country  and 
those  who  surrounded  him  in  life  there  is  but  a  modicum  of  retrret 
at  his  departure,  and  he  is  soon  forgotten.  But  whether  high  or 
low,  whether  statesman  or  peasant,  whether  rich  or  poor,  the  man 
is  U)  be  most  remembered  who  patiently  works  in  his  allotted  sphere 
and  faithfully  discharges  his  duty. 

I  found  Major  Hawk  to  be  man  of  that  kind,  and  this  House 
properly  honors  the  memory  of  a  Representative  who  was  honest 
and  faithful  and  true  in  all  the  relations  of  life  ;  who  had  strong 
convictions  and  pursued  them  ;  who  had  the  courage  to  perform 
his  duty  and  follow  the  right,  and  well  he  knew  what  was  the  right. 
Over  his  grave,  from  short  acquaintance  with  him,  I  desire  to  ex- 
press sorrow  at  his  death  and  gratification  that  his  memory  is  to 
be  embahiied,  as  we  are  told,  in  the  community  where  he  lived  and 
by  a  constituency  he  faithfully  served  on  this  floor. 

I  say  that  we  have  been  called  often  in  this  Cony-ress  to  mourn 
the  dead  taken  from  this  Chamber,  so  many  during  these  short  two 


28  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

years,  men  of  long,  useful,  public  .service,  and  some  who  had 
scarcely  reached  the  meridian  of  life.  Who  can  tell  when  tlie  por- 
tals of  this  Hall  shall  again  open  to  the  great  destroyer  who  may 
enter  and  seize  another  victim  ?  Who  knows  who  that  victim  Avill 
be,  whether  old  or  young,  whom  we  may  be  called  upon  again  to 
mourn  and  pay  these  formal  fitting  ceremonies?  When  that  time 
shall  come  I  trust  that  over  the  dead  body  of  another  member  of 
this  House  it  may  be  said,  he  died  an  honest  man,  the  noblest  work 
of  God,  a  sentiment  never  too  old  to  be  repeated. 

Mr.  Speaker,  all  humanity  is  made  of  one  family — the  living 
and  the  dead.  Those  who  go  before  us  shed  their  benefactions 
ujion  us  by  their  good  works.  If  they  have  worked  patiently  in 
their  allotment,  if  they  have  discharged  their  duties,  personal  and 
relative,  if  they  liave  dealt  honestly  with  their  fellow-men,  if  they 
have  sustained  and  supj)orted  the  Government  of  their  country  as 
did  our  dead  colleague  in  its  dark  hours  of  distress  and  necessity, 
and  have  acknowledged  their  allegiance  to  Almighty  God,  they  will 
shed  their  benefactions  upon  us. 

When  we  have  filled  our  allotte-d  time  and  the  destroyer  comes 
to  us,  may  it  be  said  that  we  have  so  discharged  our  duties  that 
when  we  are  gone  we  will  leave  something  that  posterity  may  imi- 
tate. That  is  all  of  life;  it  is  all  of  death  ;  it  is  all  of  humanity. 
Well  did  Major  Hawk  fulfill  his  duties  and  leave  to  his  family 
the  priceless  leg-acy  of  a  useful  and  blameless  life. 

T  render  this  brief  tribute  to  his  memory  ;  a  generous,  kind- 
hearted,  upright  man.  He  was  maimed  in  the  service  of  his  conn- 
try  and  dav  and  night  he  suffered  constant  pain,  which  he  bore 
with  the  fortitude  of  a  soldier  and  resignation  of  a  Christian.  To 
his' memory  as  a  soldier,  as  a  member  of  this  House,  and  higher 
and  holier  emotion  of  the  heart,  to  his  memory  I  yield  the  hom- 
age of  my  respect,  because  he  was  my  friend. 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.    WHEELER,, OF  ALABAMA.  29 


Address  of  Mr.  Wheeler,  of  Alabama. 

"The  boast  of  heraldry,  tlie  pomps  of  power, 

And  all  that  beauty,  all  that  wealth  e'er  gave, 
Await  alike  the  iuevitable  hour. 
The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

"People  of  Illiuois,  allow  uie  to  plant  the  rose  and  the  laurel  upon  the  grave 
of  your  departed  dead." 

Mr.  Speaker  :  When  a  few  liours  ago  I  was  honored  by  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Illinois  delegation  with  an  invitation  to  participate 
in  these  mournful  ceremonies  I  felt  embarrassed,  for  the  reason  that 
I  apprehended  that  without  preparation  I  would  be  unequal  to  the 
task.  This  reflection  inspired  me  with  reluctance  to  assume  so 
prominent  an  attitude.  But  when  I  recalled  the  shock  which  I 
felt  when  I  heard  of  the  death  of  our  lamented  friend,  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  I  made  his  acquaintance,  which  though 
brief  was  of  the  most  pleasant  character,  I  could  not  hesitate  in 
my  reply. 

In  December,  1881,  when  the  Forty -seventh  Congress  assembled 
in  this  hall,  a  manly,  commanding  form  could  be  seen  in  the  row 
of  seats  directly  in  front  of  the  Speaker's  desk.  There  was  much 
in  his  appeai'ance  to  attract  attention.  Ever  at  his  post  of  duty, 
he  carried  with  him  a  sad  reminder  of  the  past  which  he  could  not 
conceal — the  evidence  of  heroic  service,  the  badge  of  honor  won  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

But  now  we  miss  him  in  his  wonted  place. 
And  search  in  vain  for  that  congenial  face. 

Mr.  Speaker,  there  is  an  overwhelming  sadness  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  image  of  a  dead  friend,  whom  we  can  see  in  all  the  viv- 
idness of  reality,  as  he  lived  and  moved  in  our  midst,  while  we 
know  certainly  that  he  has  gone  away  fn^m  us  forever,  tliat  we 
shall  meet  him  never  again  upon  this  earth.  But  in  the  language 
of  the  sacred  writer — 

"Man  goeth  to  his  long  home,  and  the  mourners  go  about  the  streets." 


30  LIFE  AND  CHARACTEB  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  BAWK. 

And  in  these  touching  lines  we  are  reminded  that  nowhere  is 
there  exemption  froai  the  inevitable  decree : 

"There  is  uo  flock,  however  watched  and  teiulwl, 
But  one  dead  lamb  is  there ; 
There  is  no  fireside,  howsoe'er  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair." 

Bv  tlie  providence  of  God  it  is  so  ordered  that  time  gradually 
throws  the  veil  of  oblivion  over  melancholy  memories,  while  it 
opens  up  in  dewy  freshness  all  the  joyous  recollections  of  the  past. 
So  the  wounded  soldier  whose  virtues  we  commemorate  to-day,  for- 
getting tile  gloomy  sufferings  and  agonies  of  war,  cherished  only 
the  flower-crowned  memories  of  the  march,  the  biv(»uac,  and  the 
battle. 

I  hold  in  my  hand  a  history  of  the  regiment  in  which  INIajor 
Hawk  was  one  of  tht;  iiighest  officers,  and  certainly  one  of  its 
leading  spirits.  My  hurried  perusal  of  tiiis  volume  shows  that 
our  late  compeer  was  one  of  the  brave  men  who  led  the  front  in 
that  almost  continuous  battle  from  the  Ohio  through  Kentucky, 
I'rom  the  Cumberland  through  Tennessee,  and  from  the  Tennessee 
tlirough  Georgia  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Witii  the  gallant  Rosecrans  he  breasted  the  storm  of  death  at 
Murfreesborough  and  under  the  same  intrepid  eonnuander  led  the 
van  in  the  historic  conflict  at  ( "hickamauga. 

His  trooi)s  were  part  of  the  surging  line  which  cliargi'd  with 
such  desperation  on  that  bright  sunny  morning  at    Kencsaw. 

He  was  in  the  terrible  onslaught  at  .Vtlanta,  and  in  the  leading 
colunm  in  the  march  preceding  the  battle  at  Jonesborough.  In 
that  engagement  he  fought  with  unusual  bravery,  and  intlie  march 
to  the  sea,  lighting  at  every  step,  he  earned  the  conunendation  of 
(icueral   Sherman,  his  distinguished  eonnuander. 

At  Macon,  Buckhcad  Church,  AVaynesborough,  Aiken,  Averys- 
borough,  and  on  hundreds  of  other  fields,  towered  the  portly  form 
of  him  who  was  so  lately  with  us  in  this  hall  ;  and  with  the  sound 
of  victory  upon  his  ears  he  fell  wounded  in  one  of  the  last  battles 
of  hisgallantchieftain,  the  present  honored  conunander  of  our  Army. 

Much  that  I  read  in   this  work   1   heard   from   Major  Hawk's 


ADDRESS  OF  MK.    WHEELER,  OF  ALABAMA.  31 

own  lips,  who,  on  our  first  meeting,  spoke  of  me  as  one  who  had 
often  been  very  near  him  during  the  conflicts  to  wiiich  I  have  re- 
ferred— on  opposite  sides,  of  course,  but  still  near  each  othei*  on 
American  iields  of  battle — and  this  very  fact  seemed  to  awaken  our 
mutual  sympathies  and  tendetl  gently  but  surely  to  draw  us  together 
into  cordial  relations. 

Let  no  man  doubt  the  real  cause  of  this  almost  instantaneous 
cordiality.  It  is  this :  We  had  in  fact  never  been  enemies.  The 
word  enemy  is  not  the  word  to  use  in  reference  to  our  diffei^ences 
of  position.  We  had  simply  been  arrayed  in  opposing  attitudes. 
Between  the  individual  people  of  the  Xorth  and  the  South  there 
was  no  real  enmity.  Let  the  historian,  the  philospher,  the  states- 
man, while  he  pauses  with  amazement  and  admiration,  as  he  con- 
templates these  great  lately-contending  hosts  laying  down  their 
arms  and  assuming  so  readily  and  even  gracefully  the  most  friendlv 
relations,  find  his  answer  here  :  There  had  been  no  real  enmitv 
between  these  warring  peoples. 

Our  war  has  no  parallel  in  military  literature.  It  is  unlike  all 
other  wars  in  many  of  its  leading  features. 

The  most  sanguinary  of  the  English  wars  comes  down  to  us  in 
history  under  the  softest  and  sweetest  of  names.  It  is  called  the 
War  of  the  Roses.  Under  that  gentle  and  poetic  designation  lie 
coucealed  the  hideous  features  of  a  strife  the  most  ferocious  of  any 
in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare,  waged  as  it  was  by  brothers  and 
kinsmen.  It  was,  nevertheless,  so  wholly  unlike  our  war  that  the 
distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  two  may  be  profitably  con- 
templated, contra.sted,  and  studied. 

That  too,  it  is  true,  was  a  civil  war,  a  war  rendered  the  more 
terrific  by  the  personal  hc^stility  of  the  combatants,  for  into  that 
war  entered  all  the  fiercer  and  darker  passions  of  the  human  heart, 
envy,  jealousy,  hati'ed,  malevolence,  malignity,  and  revenge,  the 
most  aspiring  pretensions  and  the  most  inordinate  ambitions,  all 
prompted  and  urged  by  the  family  pride  of  the  nol>ilitv  and  the 
autocratic  prei-ogatives  of  royalty. 

It  was  a  war  waged  for  nobility,  the  nobility  of  persons  where 
titles  and  place,  manors  and  earldoms,  crowns  and  klngd(jms  were 
the  stakes;  where  the  resuh  wa.s  the  tyrannical  dominance  of  family 


32  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

on  the  one  side  and  individual  extermination  on  the  other.  While 
titles  and  crowns  awaited  the  victors,  the  frowning  executioner 
stood  hard  by  with  his  keen  ax,  eager  and  anxious  to  chop  off  the 
heads  of  the  vanquished. 

I^et  us  contrast  this  picture  of  war  for  a  single  moment  with  this 
more  recent  one  of  ours. 

Our  civil  war,  while  it  was  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  terrific 
that  ever  employed  the  arm  of  the  soldier  or  (nigaged  the  pen  of 
the  historian,  was  at  the  same  time  one  of  tlie  most  singular  and 
remarkable  ever  recorded,  in  this  one  distinctive  characteristic: 
that  as  between  the  soldiers  who  met  and  fought  each  other  so 
desperately  there  was  not  and  never  had  been,  and  from  the  nature 
of  things  never  could  be,  any  individual  personal  hostility,  none 
of  that  despicable  feeling  known  as  hatred.  No  revenge,  no  ambi- 
tion, no  malice,  no  blood-thirstiness.  They  had  marched  and 
fought  and  triumphed  under  the  same  flag  for  nearly  a  century. 
They  had  seen  their  popuhition  grow  from  three  to  forty  millions, 
and  their  territories  expand  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Hence,  this  war 
of  ours  did  not  arouse  nor  engage  nor  stir  up  the  dark  and  fierce 
passions  of  the  liiunan  hciU't.  We  met  and  fought,  not  in  a  spirit 
of  ano-er,  but  in  the  fulfillment  of  dutv. 

It  was  a  war  built  upon  abstractions ;  not  made  nor  sought  nor 
wished  for  by  the  peopK;  at  large,  but  rendered  inevitable  by  ex- 
traordinary circumstances  and  by  the  irreconcilable  conflict  of 
opinions.  Hence,  when  this  people  met  each  other  face  to  face  as 
foes  in  war  they  were  amazed,  perplexed,  and  confounded  at  the 
most  unnatural  a.spect,  and  felt  in  their  hearts  more  reluctance  than 
hostilitv,  more  regret  than  revenge,  more  sorrow  than  anger. 

In  such  a  war  the  savay-e  instincts  of  fen )citv  could  have  no 
])]ace,  and  hence  upon  the  close  of  such  a  war  there  could  be  no 
revenoes  to  sratifv.  Hence,  also,  the  instantaneous  national  recon- 
ciliation  which  so  puzzles  mankind  in  the  outside  world  is  but  the 
natural  result  of  the  reunion  of  that  sentiment  (broken  but  for  a 
moment)  which  is  the  real  characteristic  of  American  civilization, 
that  is,  the  design  to  work  out  the  problem  of  human  liberty  and 
to  establish  the  rights  of  man  by  the  unity  of  labor,  the  unity  of 
mind,  and  the  union  of  the  States. 


J  DURESS  OF  MR.    WHEELER,  OF  A  LA  HA  MA.  33 

teople  of  Illinois,  allow  me  to  plant  the  rose  and  the  laurel  upon 
the  grave  of  your  departed  hero,  a  soldier  brave  and  determined  in 
war,  a  citizen  loved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  him,  and  a 
servant  to  his  people,  faithful  to  every  duty.  Paladin  of  an  hun- 
dred battles,  yet  the  pride  and  pomp  and  triumphs  of  war  had  not 
so  carried  him  away  as  to  make  him  lose  sight  of  the  humbler  call- 
ings of  good  citizenship;  and  consequently  we  see  in  his  career  in 
civil  life  the  same  unerring  integrity  that  carried  him  successfully 
through  the  war  marking  his  demeanor  as  the  industrious  official, 
ever  at  the  post  of  labor,  thus  commanding  confidence  and  trust 
and  assuring  success  amid  the  plaudits  of  his  fellow-citizens,  emi- 
nently exemplifying  Pope's  often  quoted  but  most  true  words  : 

Honor  aud  shame  from  no  condition  rise ; 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies. 

The  Speaker.  The  question  is  upon  the  adoption  of  the  resolu- 
tions which  have  been  submitted. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously;  aud  accordingly  the 
House  adjourned. 

0174 3 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  THE  SENATE. 


In  the  Senate,  June   30,  1882. 

A  message  from  the  House  of  Representatites,  by  Mr.  McPher- 
son,  its  Clerk,  communicated  to  the  Senate  the  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  member  of  the  House 
from  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  transmitted  the  resolutions  of  the 
House  thereon. 

The  President  pro  teinpore.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  Senate 
the  resolutions  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  will  be  read. 

The  resolutions  were  read,  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  tlie  House  has  heard  with  sincere  regret  the  announcement 
of  the  death  of  Hon.  Egbert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  Representative  from  the 
State  of  Illinois. 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (the  Senate  concurring  herein),  That  a 
special  joint  committee  of  seven  members  of  the  House  and  three  members  of 
the  Senate  be  appointed  to  take  order  for  superintending  the  funeral,  and  to 
escort  the  remains  of  the  deceased  to  their  last  resting-place,  and  that  all 
necessary  expenses  attending  the  execution  of  this  order  shall  be  paid  out  of 
the  contingent  fund  of  the  House. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  House  communicate  the  foregoing  resolu- 
tions to  the  Senate. 

Resolred,  That,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  the 
House  do  now  adjourn. 

(h-dered,  That  Mr.  George  R.  Davis,  Mr.  L.  E.  Payson,  Mr.  S.  W.  Moulton, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Calkins,  Mr.  G.  C.  Cabell,  Mr.  J.  A.  McKeuzie,  and  Mr.  W.  Cullen 
be  members  on  the  part  of  the  House. 

Mr.  Logan.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  received  with  profound  sensibility  the  mes- 
sage of  the  House  of  Representatives  announcing  the  death  of  Hon.  Robert 
M.  A.  Hawk,  a  Representative  from  the  State  of  Hlinois. 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  concur  in  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  that  the  President  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate  appoint 
three  Senators  to  escort  the  remains  of  the  deceased  in  conjunction  with  the 
committee  on  the  part  of  the  House,  as  provided  in  said  resolutions. 


36  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  adoption  of 
the  resohition.s.  [Putting  the  question.]  The  resolutions  are  unau- 
iniously  adopted.  The  Chair  appoints  the  Senator  from  Illinois 
[Mr.  Logan],  the  Senator  from  Iowa  [Mr.  MeDill],  and  the  Sen- 
ator from  Mississippi  [Mr.  George],  as  the  committee  on  the  part 
of  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Logan  Out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased  Rep- 
i-esentative,  I  move  that  the  Senate  do  now  adjourn. 

The  motion  was  agreed  to;  and  the  Senate  adjourned. 


In  the  Senate,  February  6,  1>>83. 
The  President  pro  tonporc.  The  Chair  lays  before  the  Senate 
resolutions  of  the  House  of  Ke})rescntatives,  which  "svill  be  read. 
The  Acting  Secretary  read  as  follows : 

lUsolred,  That  this  House  has  heard  with  profound  regret  the  annoimce- 
iiient  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  member  of  the  House 
from  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Resohed,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  his  memory  the  ollicers  and  memliers 
of  this  House  will  wear  the  usual  hadge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  he  transmitted  by  the  Clerk  of 
the  House  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

Resolred,  That  as  a  further  mark  of  respect  the  House,  at  the  oonclnsion  of 
these  memorial  proceedings,  shall  adjourn. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  communicate  these  resolutions  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Logan.  Mr.  President,  I  offer  the  resolutions  which  I  send 
to  the  Chair. 

The  President  pro  tempore.  The  resolutions  ■will  be  read. 
The  Acting  Secretary  read  as  follows : 

Resolved,  That  the  Senate  has  received  with  profound  sorrow  and  regret 
the  announcement  of  the  death  of  Hon.  Robert  M.  A.  Hawk,  late  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  tenders  to  the 
family  and  kindred  of  the  deceased  assurances  of  sympathy  in  their  sad  be- 
reavement. 

Resolved,  That  the  business  of  the  Senate  be  now  suspended  that  oppor» 
tunity  may  be  given  for  appropriate  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased 
and  to  his  public  services  and  private  virtues  ;  and  that,  as  a  further  mark  of 
respect,  the  Senate  at  the  conclusion  of  such  remarks  shall  adjourn, . 


ADDRESS  OF  MU.  LOGAN,  OF  ILLIXOIS.  37 

Address  of  Mr.  Logan,  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  President,  Robert  ]\Iaffitt  Allison  Hawk  was  born 
on  a  farm  two  miles  and  a  half  east  of  Greenfield,  Hancock  C-ounty, 
Indiana,  April  23,  1839.  He  wa.s  the  sou  of  \Mlliam  Henry  and 
Hannah  (Maffitt)  Hawk,  The  parents  \vere  both  natives  of  Abing- 
don, A^'ashington  County,  Virginia,  the  mother  being  of  Scotch- 
Irish  extraction.  The  father  was  born  December  2,  1809,  the  son 
(^f  Andrew  and  ^lary  (Myers)  Hawk,  and  resided  with  his  parents, 
working  on  a  farm  and  obtaining  such  limited  education  as  the 
schools  of  the  day  afforde<l.  While  not  attending  school  he  was 
put  to  work  at  the  trade  of  his  father,  that  of  house-joiner.  In 
1836,  Xovember  10,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Hannah  Maffitt, 
daughter  of  Captain  John  and  Isabella  (Davis)  Maffitt.  He  was 
a  captain  and  Indian  fighter  in  his  time,  as  was  his  father,  Avho 
was  killed  at  the  battle  of  the  Great  Kanawha. .  He  was  a  man  of 
influence,  a  Baptist  in  religious  belief,  and  politically  a  great 
admirer  and  follower  of  Thomas  H.  Benton. 

He  removed  about  the  year  1837  to  Hancock  County,  Indiana, 
where  Robert  and  his  two  brothers  were  born.  Here  they  resided 
for  about  seven  years,  until  October  30,  1843,  when  the  mother 
died,  leaving  three  small  children.  The  following  year  the  father 
reiiioved  to  Freedom,  Carroll  County,  Illinois,  and  married  for  his 
second  wife  Margaret  E.  Davis.  The  three  children,  who  had 
l)een  left  at  their  native  home,  were  brought  to  the  new  home  in 
1846,  then  quite  an  uninhabited  ])lace.  The  father  carried  on  the 
farm,  and  at  times  worked  at  his  trade  of  house-joiner.  Both  the 
father  and  step-mother  are  now  living  in  the  same  towni  in  which 
they  first  settled  in  Illinois. 

Prior  to  the  year  1856  Major  Hawk  had  received  only  a  com- 
mon-school education.  In  that  year  he  was  placed  at  a  private 
and  select  school  for  the  purpose  of  being  prepared  for  college. 
While  he  was  but  16  years  old  he  was  an  instructor  in  a  common 
school  in  his  neighliorhood.  He  was  always  favorably  kno^\■n 
among  his  playmates  and  classmates,  being  of  good  temper  and 


38  LIFE  AND  CHARAVTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

having  a  fine  disposition.  He  was  industrious  and  was  a  close 
student,  and  when  not  at  work  upon  the  farm  his  bookfs  were  his 
companions. 

In  September,  1861,  he  entered  Eureka  College,  at  Eureka, 
Woodford  County,  Illinois ;  there  he  remained  for  about  four 
months.  The  late  rebellion  having  broken  out,  and  while  at 
home  on  a  vacation  from  college,  he  enlisted  in  a  company  which 
was  being  raised  by  Mr.  Stoifer  at  Mount  Carroll,  near  his  home, 
which  company  became  a  part  of  the  Ninety-second  Illinois  Regi- 
ment, at  Rockford,  Illinois,  and  on  the  2d  of  September  of  the 
same  year  he  was  selected  a  first  lieutenant,  and  from  that  time 
continued  with  his  company  in  all  its  marches  and  battles.  He 
marched  through  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Georgia, 
and  was  made  captain  January  21,  1863.  In  July,  1863,  the 
regiment  was  detached  from  Granger's  Corps  to  Wilder's  Mounted 
Infantry. 

Captain  Hawk  showed  marked  ability,  activity,  and  courage  in  the 
operations  of  his  command  at  the  battle  of  Cliattanooga ;  he  did  gal- 
lant service  also  at  tlie  battles  of  Lookout  Mountain  and  Chicka- 
mauga.  Being  at  the  headquarters  of  (jreneral  Rosecrans,  he  per- 
formed the  duty  of  carrying  dispatches  to  all  parts  of  the  field  of 
Chickamauga, 

He  continued  detached  w  ith  his  company  from  his  command 
until  the  4tli  of  December,  1863,  when  he  was  ordered  to  rejoin 
his  regiment. 

In  the  year  1864  he  was  with  his  command  and  Mas  engaged  in 
several  actions  at  Nicojack,  Lovejoy,  Jonesborough,  and  Powder 
River. 

On  November  4,  1864,  the  division  was  reorganized  and  the 
Ninety-second  became  part  of  the  second  brigade  of  Kilpatrick's 
cavalary. 

In  what  is  known  as  "  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea "  Captain 
HaaV'K'.s  company  rendered  very  great  service  as  part  of  the  rear 
guard  at  Waynesborough,  where  he  was  engaged  in  hard  fighting, 
losing  seventeen  of  his  men  Ho  was  also  engaged  in  a  severe  action 
at  or  near  Aiken,  South  Carolina,  losing  twenty-six  men. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  1865,  following  and  pressing  the  enemy 


ADDRESii  OF  MR.  LOGA.W   OF  ILLIXOL'i.  39 

iu  luurcliiiig  from  Raleigh  to  Swift  Creek,  the  bridge  was  destroyed 
by  the  enemy,  who  held  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek.  When  the 
bridge  was  captured  the  Ninety-.second  Regiment  crossed,  and  Cap- 
tain Hawk  a.ud  his  company  were  in  the  advance  pushing  the  enemy 
and  making  a  gallant  fight  against  a  very  stubborn  resistance,  when 
he  fell,  receiving  a  minie-ball,  giving  him  a  severe  and  almost  mortal 
w(jund,  from  the  effect  of  which  he  lost  his  right  leg  between  the 
knee  and  hip-joint.  He  lay  for  a  long  time  in  hospital,  but  was  at 
last  taken  home  by  his  father.  He  was  in  a  very  feeble  condition 
for  many  months.  He  was  brevetted  major  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1866,  to  rank  from  January  20,  1865.  The  greatest  compliment 
that  can  be  paid  to  a  soldier  is  to  say  of  him  what  I  now  say  of 
Major  Hawk,  "  He  wa.s  a  brave,  intelligent,  and  gallant  soldier," 

While  lying  in  bed,  weak  and  feeble  from  his  severe  wound,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  G.  Clark,  an  estimable  young  lady,  now 
his  widow,  to  whom  he  was  engaged  prior  to  entering  the  Army. 

In  the  fall  of  1865  the  people  elected  him  county  clerk,  also  in 
1869,  1873,  and  1877,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  performed 
during  these  many  years  with  marked  ability  and  fidelity.  On 
account  of  his  ability  and  his  pleasant  intercourse  with  the  people, 
in  November,  1878,  he  was  elected  to  the  Forty-sixth  Congress,  and 
again  to  the  Forty-seventh  Congress,  Xovember,  1880.  He  became 
an  earnest  Republican  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion  and  re- 
mained so  up  to  his  death. 

As  a  Representative  in  Congress  he  made  an  honest  and  faithful 
member,  at  all  times  doing  his  duty  patriotically  and  well.  Had 
he  lived  his  career  as  a  member  of  Congress  would  have  been  one 
of  honor  and  glory. 

Major  Haaa'K  was  a  man  belo\ed  by  all  his  neighbors  and  friends. 
He  was  a  kind  and  considerate  husband,  and  a  generous  and  loving 
parent,  a  man  of  intellectual  strength  and  good  judgment,  of  rare 
business  qualifications,  calculated  to  be  successful  in  whatever  he 
might  undertake.  While  here  in  AVashington  attending  to  his 
duties  as  a  member  of  Congress,  on  the  29th  of  June,  1882,  at  812 
Twelfth  street,  he  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy. 

His  attack  was  so  sudden  that  few  knew  of  his  sickness.  A  phy- 
sician had  been  called  in.     The  rooms  occujiied  by  myself  being 


40  LIFE  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 

immediately  above  his,  I  was  notified  of  liis  illness.  Upon  re]>air- 
ing  to  his  rooms  I  found  him  quite  sick.  The  physician  and  some 
other  persons  were  by  his  bedside.  I  returned  to  my  room  for  some 
purpose  or  other,  when,  on  returning  again  to  his  rooms,  in  proba-  • 
bly  less  than  three  minutes  from  the  time  I  left  him,  I  found  him 
in  a  dying  condition.  I  notified  the  physician,  who  was  standing, 
apparently  preparing  some  medicine,  that  the  major  was  dying.  He 
turned  and  looked  at  him  apparently  very  nuich  surprised.  Just 
at  this  moment  Major  Hawk  breathed  his  last. 

At  his  death  none  of  his  family  were  present.  I  immediately 
informed  them  by  telegraph,  at  tlie  same  time  stating  to  them 
that  his  remains  would  be  taken  to  his  home.  His  remains  were 
properly  cared  for  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  House  and  friends, 
and  on  the  next  day,  in  the  evening,  with  a  connnittee  from  both 
Houses  of  Congress,  we  accompanied  his  remains  to  Mount  Carroll, 
in  Carroll  County,  Illinois,  and  there  placed  them  in  charge  of  his 
loving  wife,  family,  and  friends.  The  inimen.se  throng  tliat  assem- 
bled there  on  that  day  to  take  a  last  hjok  at  their  friend  and  Kepre- 
sentativ(>  gave  evidence  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  b}' 
all  the  people  in  that  j>opulons  conununity. 

Tiie  connnittee  of  Congress  accompanied  the  remains  of  ^Nlajor 
Hawk  to  his  final  resting-place.  He  was  buried  in  a  beautiful 
cemetery  on  a  high  hill  near  Mount  Carroll,  with  Christian  rites 
and  Masonic  honors.  Major  Hawk  was  a  member  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  believed  fully  in  a  life  beyond  the  grave.  No  one  out- 
side of  his  immediate  family  mourns  his  loss  more  than  myself.  No 
better  or  purer  man  has  it  been  my  good  fortune  to  know. 


Address  of  Mr.  Hampton,  of  South  Carolina, 

Mr,  President  :  It  was  only  as  these  resolutions  which  have  just 
been  read  from  your  desk  Avere  brought  into  this  Chamber  that  you, 
sir,  and  your  distinguished  colleague  asked  me  to  say  a  few  words 
of  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  gallant  soldier  and  upright  Kepre- 


ADDRESS  OF  MR.  HAMPTON,  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  41 

sentative  whose  loss  your  State  deplores.  I  regret  exceedingly  tliat 
I  have  not  had  longer  notice  of  this,  for  then  I  should  have  dis- 
oliarged  this  melancholy  duty  Avith  more  satisfaction  to  the  State 
that  honored  him  and  to  myself. 

The  two  earliest  meetings  between  Major  Hawk  and  myself 
were  under  peculiar  circumstances.  We  met  first  amid  the  roar 
of  battle,  and  neither  of  us  knew  the  other.  Years  afterward, 
when  he  was  placed  in  the  other  House,  a  fitting  and  honored 
Representative  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  I  was  sent  to  represent  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  in  this  Chamber,  and  coming  here  crippled 
as  he  was,  in  walking  up  these  steps  one  day,  I  met  him,  not 
knowing  him,  a  man  of  commanding  presence  and  of  fine  face,  and 
drawn  to  him  by  the  common  symj^athy  of  a  common  affliction  I 
ventured  to  speak  to  him. 

We  fell  into  conversation ;  and  after  a  few  moments  he  said  to 
me,  without  one  feeling  of  resentment  and  with  a  kind  smile  on 
his  manly  face,  "  I  lost  my  leg  in  an  attack  that  General  Hampton 
made  upon  our  camp."  That  was  another  bond  of  sympathy  be- 
tween us ;  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  during  the  brief  time  that  he 
was  spared  the  intercourse  between  us  was  that  not  of  foemen  but 
of  friends.  1  learned  to  rerard  him  then  as  a  man  of  hig^h  char- 
acter,  of  sterling  integrity,  and  of  the  very  highest  soldierly  quali- 
ties, and  it  taught  me  this  lesson,  a  lesson  that  cannot  be  impressed 
too  often  and  too  solemnly  upon  this  country  :  that  we  are  all  now 
citizens  of  a  common  country,  for  the  men  who  had  fought,  who 
had  met  in  battle,  and  one  of  whom  had  been  rendered  a  cripple 
for  life,  met  his  old  foeman  as  a  friend,  and  that  old  foeman  now 
feelingly  pays  this  tribute  to  his  memory.  And,  sir,  I  feel  assured 
that  the  humble  flower  that  I  shall  venture  to  lay  upon  his  tomb 
will  not  be  valued  less  because  it  comes  from  one  who  had  been 
his  foCj  but  who  now  n^ourns  hira  ^s  a  friend, 


42  LIFE  AND  CHARAVTEH  OF  ROBERT  M.  A.  HAWK. 


Address  of  Mr.  George,  of  Mississippi. 

Mr.  Peesident  :  I  did  not  know  Mr.  Haavk,  I  never  met  him. 
It  was  my  melancholy  dnty,  in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  this 
body  expressed  by  the  Chair,  to  accompany  his  remains  to  his  home, 
to  convey  to  his  family  and  his  friends  the  respect  which  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  had  for  his  memory. 

I  was  very  much  struck  by  what  I  saw  and  what  I  heard  at  the 
village  of  Mount  Carroll,  at  which  the  deceased  had  lived.  On  the 
day  that  we  arrived  there  the  whole  population  of  that  village,  of 
all  ages  and  of  all  sexes  and  of  all  conditions,  turned  out  to  show 
their  respect  for  the  m(>mory  of  the  deceased  and  to  give  their  tes- 
timony, silent  yet  potent,  to  his  worth.  His  remains  were  taken  to 
the  dwelling  from  which  T  learned  that  less  than  a  week  before  we 
carried  him  back  a  lifeless  corpse  he  had  left  in  full  health  and 
vigor  for  this  city  to  discharge  his  duties  as  a  member  of  Congress. 

That  community  gathered  around  thnt  dwelling.  It  was  my 
fortune,  with  other  members  of  the  committee,  to  be  so  placed  for 
about  two  hours,  during  which  we  were  detained  at  his  dwelling,  as 
to  enable  us  to  see,  to  survey,  and  to  scrutinize  the  faces  of  the  very 
large  crowd  which  had  assembled  to  pay  their  respect  to  his  mem- 
ory. It  was  a  curious  study  to  me,  situated  as  I  was,  to  look  on 
that  large  crowd,  without  seats,  standing,  waiting,  on  that  hot  July 
day,  for  the  opportunity  which  was  extended  to  all  to  pass  through 
his  dwelling  and  take  a  last  look  at  his  lifeless  form. 

The  ceremony,  as  I  remarked,  consumed  at  least  two  hours ;  yet 
in  all  that  time,  with  that  crowd  uncomfortably  standing  in  the  hot 
sun,  I  saw  no  impatience,  no  restlessness,  no  sign  of  frivolity  or 
eager  curiosity.  I  saw  only  engraven  upon  the  faces  of  all  the 
men  and  women  and  children  who  were  present  the  signs  of  the 
deepest  melancholy  and  sorrow  for  the  loss  they  had  sustained  in 
the  death  of  Major  Hawk. 

I  moralized,  Mr.  President,  in  this  way  over  that  scene,  that 
here  was  a  man  who  had  lived  in  that  community  from  his  youth 
up ;  had  served  them  in  a  county  office — I  believe  county  clerk— 


ADDRESS  OF  Alli.   GEORGE,  OF  MISSISSIPPI.  43 

fur  u  iminber  of  years  ;  wasu  member  of  one  of  the  fraternities,  the 
Masonic  fraternity  ;  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  churches ;  was  an 
active  participant  in  the  discharge  of  all  public  and  private  duties, 
and  after  a  long  service  at  home  had  been  called  by  that  community 
and  others  in  the  same  vicinity  to  a  higher  sphere,  and  that  all  this 
service  had  but  the  more  endeared  him  to  the  people  who  knew  him 
best.  He  had  served  that  community  and  his  district  here  for  sev- 
eral years.  His  service  had  been  so  acceptable  that  at  the  date  of 
his  untimely  death  he  had  either  been  renominated  or  his  renomi- 
nation  was  assured  for  a  seat  in  the  next  Congress. 

I  learned  this  from  the  way  that  his  neighbors  behaved,  the  Avay 
they  looked,  and  the  way  they  expressed  themselves  when  they 
talked  at  all ;  that  they  regarded  him  as  their  friend ;  that  in  all  that 
he  had  done  in  private  life,  in  all  that  he  had  done  in  more  humble 
positions  to  which  they  had  called  him,  and  in  all  that  he  had  done 
in  the  higher  and  more  elevated  position  to  which  they  in  common 
with  their  fellow-citizens  in  that  Congressional  district  had  called 
him,  he  had  so  acted  as  to  impress  upon  them  that  he  was  indeed 
and  in  truth  their  friend. 

Na  higher  compliment,  no  greater  honor  can  ever  be  conferred 
upon  a  public  servant  than  the  recognition,  as  these  people  did  rec- 
ognize, that  their  servant  in  all  his  acts  was  their  friend.  They 
gave  this  testimony.  And  if  I  might  moralize  now,  I  would  say 
to  my  brother  Senators  as  we  are  hastening  to  the  same  tomb,  when 
our  earthly  career  closes  if  we  shall  have  been  fortunate  enough  to 
have  done  like  him,  to  have  won  from  those  whom  we  tried  to  serve 
the  endearing  epithet  of  friend,  we  shall  have  done  well. 

The  President  j>/-o  tempore.  The  question  is  on  the  adoption  of  the 
resolutions  of  the  Senator  from  Illinois  [Mr.  Logan]. 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to ;  and  the  Senate  ad- 
journed. 


